


Sigil: In Gold and Blue

by syrren



Series: Sigil [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Animal Death, Animal Sacrifice, Blood, Body Horror, Demon Dipper Pines, F/F, F/M, Human Bill Cipher, M/M, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, halfway demon actually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-06
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-03-29 05:56:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 55,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3884971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syrren/pseuds/syrren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>True names can give one extraordinary power over demons. When Dipper finds an annotated grimoire he gains just that and more. But this is Bill Cipher we’re talking about - and trouble is imminent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Paper

Dim lighting and the clanging of a bell above the door greeted him when he walked into the shop. Worn carpet riddled with stains beneath him and other signs of disrepair in the building hinted at the success the business had financially: barely scraping by. Rows of bookshelves split the space into narrow walkways with a desk serving as the check-out counter in the corner to the left of the door. Small labels denoted each genre of the books, though no better direction was given.

Dipper Pines pulled the door shut behind him and approached the desk, trying not to show his discomfort with the lack of air conditioning. The days were growing warmer and the single fan that blew in the shop was pointed directly at the clerk sitting behind the desk. The man was older, balding, and clearly unimpressed with his job considering Dipper had to clear his throat to make him put down the newspaper he was reading.

"Do you have a copy of the _Lesser Key of Solomon_?" Dipper asked quietly. The clerk kicked his feet off the desk and pointed towards the middle walkway. "Demonology is on the right side, towards the back." The brunet mumbled a thanks that must have been ignored as the clerk returned to his paper.

He ran his fingertips lightly over the spines of neatly ordered books. Now that he was closer he could read the labels pasted to each shelf. Occult. Mysticism. Theology. Demonology. He could guess what the other aisles were labelled: the bookshop specialized in literature on mythology and occultism.

These sorts of businesses weren't the most common, but he had had the fortune to find this store a few towns over from Gravity Falls. Every summer Dipper and Mabel returned to the town, to their Grunkle Stan, and the summer after their third year in college was no different. They were on their way back now but upon reading about the bookshop online, Dipper had insisted on a slight detour. He had been on the hunt for a copy of _Lesser Key of Solomon_ for the past few months but none of the bookshops near their college had been particularly fruitful and he was wary of ordering it online after seeing such a variety of prices. A copy that ran for $8 and another that was over $400 were both posted on Amazon, making him skeptical about getting it online completely.

Blessing the genes that had shot him up to around 6 feet in height over puberty, Dipper scanned the tall bookshelf. The books were listed alphabetically by author but the one he was looking for was published under a few different authors - and even a different title for one edition - leaving him to examine the entire collection.

Eyes widening in surprise and delight, Dipper snatched an aged, olive green paperback from the shelf after a few minutes. _The Lesser Key of Solomon_ was written in large black letters with "Joseph H. Peterson" below it. Dipper took a bit after his grunkle in that he was cheap, and forty dollars was a bit steep - though not compared to his college textbooks - but it was worth it. There was no other book like it.

Unable to wipe the smile from his lips, he strode back to the desk and set down the book and two twenty dollar bills.

"Find what you needed, kid?" the clerk deadpanned, pulling over the book and money.

"Yeah. First place I've seen carry this."

"Hm."

"Not very fond of this place?" Dipper creased his eyebrows but bit back his more pressing question: _how could anyone hate spending all day in this shop?_

"Its a job, kid. Here." The clerk handed him the book and a receipt, returning to his paper once Dipper had left.

* * *

 

"They had your book?" Mabel greeted Dipper when he found her in the Starbucks down the street from the bookshop. She licked the whipped cream left on the straw from her chocolate frappuccino as her eyes landed on the book in Dipper's hands.

"Yep," he chirped, pulling out the chair across from her. "For a popular grimoire, you wouldn't expect it to be so hard to find."

"Bro-bro, nothing about grimoires is popular," Mabel closed her eyes and sipped her drink.

"They're all about magic and summoning demons! How are they not popular?"

"Blah blah, heavy text, blah blah, boring studies. Popular stuff is fun and old, dry textbooks aren't fun! At the very least they need more glitter. And spells that are actually fun."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Some of the stuff in grimoires can be fun; you never read them so you wouldn't know."

"Excuse you, I am the queen of fun. And that putrid green book is not fun. What's this one about anyway?"

"It lists a bunch of demons and tells how to summon them."

"Aren't they _all_ like that?"

"No! Well, yes. Kind of. See, this one actually gets into detail." He opened up the book and found a page marked with symbols. Before showing her as he planned, he stopped, grimacing at the page. "Someone wrote in here. I paid forty dollars for a book just to have it written in."

"Hey, maybe it won't be that bad! Maybe someone wrote fun jokes in the book to lighten it up!"

He didn't need to reply; he thrust the book over to her and pointed at the notes in Latin sprawled along the sides of the page. Mabel leaned back in her chair with a deflated "oh."

"Can you return it?"

"Oh no, I'm not returning to that clerk! He was one of those grumpy kinds, he wanted me away from him as quick as possible so he could read his newspaper. We don't have time for an argument with him if we expect to get to the Mystery Shack today." Dipper pointed to the blue above that was darkening and the orange and pink staining the horizon as the sun set.

Mabel nodded and finished her drink before they headed back to their car. She sat in the driver's seat automatically - it was her turn to drive. Their first summer in Gravity Falls had torn at their trust, but subsequent years mended their relationship and now they were inseparable. The twins had gone through too much, defeated too many monsters, to let all they had worked for just fall apart. Especially not when Mabel's actions back when they were twelve had helped bring on such a positive change: the return of their Grunkle Stan's brother, the author of the journals. Now they went to the same university, shared a car, functioned together in even the smallest things such as driving.

After the car pulled to a stop and Mabel yanked the keys out of the ignition, they gathered their bags and stood in front of the Mystery Shack. The building looked more or less the same - fairly rundown but tolerable as always - though now it had a new occupant. Stanley had taken lodge in what was briefly Soos's break room, and where the twins had found the body-switching carpet. As Stanley explained it, the Mystery Shack had been his house and that particular room his before he was sent away thirty years prior.

"Wait, Dipper," Mabel jerked her twin to a stop. "They haven't noticed us yet. We should sneak in and unpack, then act like we've been here for a few days now to mess with them."

Dipper may have picked up on their grunkle's cheap ways, but Mabel had taken after him more so. Niceties aside, she was a natural con artist, though she used this skill more for disorienting tricks than "entrepreneurial" work.

He smirked and nodded, following her quietly into the house and avoiding every creak in the staircase he knew so well up to the attic. As they had grown Dipper had remained in the attic - he claimed it helped his monster hunting mood when studying grimoires and the journals or writing - while Mabel redesigned the room that once was the wax museum as her own. Hurriedly opening his backpack and flinging a few books onto his bed in accordance with Mabel's plan, he crept back downstairs and met her in the hallway.

Together they made their way into the living room when they heard the television playing for both of the Stans' amusement. They flopped down on the floor to watch the third-rate movie playing without a word, startling Stanley while Stanford laughed.

"Already summer? You two just get in?"

Dipper kept his eyes on the movie while Mabel looked confusedly at the couch where the Stans lounged. "We just decided to watch a movie with you two if that's what you mean. So what's for dinner?"

Stan mumbled something under his breath and went to the kitchen in search of anything edible. Stanley simply shook his head and commented, "He still isn't used to me doing the shopping. But then, if I didn't, all we would have is coffee."

This drew a laugh out of the younger twins and they set their gaze back on the movie. They played out the rest of the evening as normal, though when Dipper made his way up to the attic for bed Stanley followed on his heels. He was about to say something when he caught the books sprawled out on Dipper's bed and furrowed his eyebrows.

"When did you..."

Dipper turned away to hide his smirk and asked innocently. "So did you have something you needed to say?"

"Right, yes, I did." Stanley looked at him seriously. "Look, I know chasing monsters was something fun to do when you were younger - and Gravity Falls sure is the perfect place to do it - but you can't dig yourself in any deeper, kid. Training with manotaurs, chasing the gobblewonker? Fine. But you're older now. Go looking for Bill Cipher or any other powerful entity and they're gonna expect more of you. Gonna get you into deals you might be able to uphold now - but they're not worth it. Thirty years gone isn't worth it."

Dipper frowned. "Are you going to tell me this every summer?"

"Yeah, every summer until you realize Bill expects more than just temporary possession. I've heard all about your adventures, kid, you keep getting yourself into trouble. But you have _got_  to learn now not to just fall headfirst into it whenever you want to prove something."

"Okay, okay. Just maybe next time shorten all that to _stay in your lane, kid_." Dipper let out a shaky laugh despite Stanley's confused expression.

For the most part Stanley had caught up over the years though there were still parts where he lagged behind - such as in slang. He was smart, he had tackled and learned the latest technology quickly - even used it to his advantage in continuing his research of Gravity Falls. Though changing his speech to modern lingo was a bit delayed...

"Besides, how come you keep up your writing about this town but warn me not to go any further?"

"Because there's actually a chance for you to get further, kid," Stanley stepped closer, stressing every syllable. "Bill Cipher is done with me; he got everything he wanted from me in our last deal. I'm old news to him. But you still have potential, still pose as an asset to him. He might do worse to you. I mean, you were out there solving the mysteries of Gravity Falls at twelve years old, years younger than when I started. Don't let Cipher take advantage of you after all of that."

Dipper nodded slowly. Stanley had a point, he couldn't deny that. After a moment of turning Stanley's words over in his mind he spoke, "I'll watch out for Bill."

Stanley looked at him steadily before nodding and leaving the attic with a word of good night.

Pushing his backpack and books aside, Dipper leaned back on his bed and dug through his belongings until he found _The Lesser Key of Solomon_. He had tore through several books and articles on demonology, rummaged through book stores until his collection of grimoires had built up, and every text blatantly said _Lesser Key_ was the best source for summoning demons. The writings it was based on dated from the 1200's though it wasn't finished until the 1600's; it was literally a product of centuries of research. He didn't expect it to have anything on Gravity Fall's own thrice-pointed demon, but at the very least it could give him an idea on how demons could be summoned.

Perhaps he could even figure out how to summon Bill Cipher.

Dipper idly flipped through the pages, too weary after the day's drive to do any heavy reading. Every now and then small, neat handwriting made footnotes in Latin, which he would translate later. At the back there were a few flyleaf pages, free space he always used to make notes. He got ready to snap the book shut when a burst of ink on one of the blank pages caught his attention.

On one of the last pages was a rough sketch of a circle broken into small sections with symbols on each etched out space: a star, pine tree, shooting star, a few more. In the middle was a drawing of Bill Cipher. Grimacing, Dipper shut the book and tossed it aside. He flicked off the light beside his bed.

"Nope. Not tonight."

That night he slept peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll get clearer in the next chapter.  
> All of the stuff on Lesser Key of Solomon is true (in fact, difficulty in finding the right edition for a reasonable price is probably the most realistic thing in this story) and there's a few pdfs of it online if you look hard enough.


	2. Ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: death by fire

Mabel brushed thick strands of brunet hair back underneath her wide, pink headband and pulled the rest behind her shoulders. She had cut it to just below her shoulder blades a few years ago, though the poof of hair that brought the cascading locks to an end remained. The headband matched her equally bright sweater, which was pulled down over pale blue jeans that accentuated her figure. The days may be growing warmer but summer just wasn't artsy without the sweaters she made herself.

One last check in the mirror with a bright smile and she hurried down the stairs to meet Dipper. She found him in the kitchen, knocking back a cup of dark coffee and talking with Stanley while Stanford opened up the Mystery Shack for the day. Eventually the twins would have to start helping with business, but the first few days they had allotted to catching up with acquaintances in Gravity Falls.

"You almost ready, Dipping-sauce?" Mabel asked cheerily, leaning over her brother.

Laid out between Dipper and Stanley was _The Lesser Key of Solomon_ , opened up to one of the beginning pages. He had told the older man about the Latin footnotes but carefully avoided revealing the large mark of Bill Cipher in the back of the book. Dipper could barely fathom finding something outside of town containing knowledge of the demon, let alone begin to speculate how this source could pose greater potential to him. He had never known Bill Cipher to be acknowledged outside of the journals; but perhaps Mabel was right, maybe the writing in the book could be a good thing.

"Yeah, I just need to put this back," he nodded. Closing the book and grabbing it in one move, he stood up and looked to Stanley. "We'll work on translating the Latin when I get back, I guess."

"So where are you two off to?" Stanley inquired as the thumping of Dipper running upstairs reached them. He collected Dipper's abandoned cup and his own empty one and shuffled to the sink.

"We're going to go to the diner to meet up with some of our friends. And then we're going mini-golfing!"

"Huh, well have fun." Stanley offered her a wave and went to help his twin with the shop.

Stanley looked good for his age; compared to Stan anyway. Grey was starting to dominate his hair, but not completely, as there was still a fair amount of youthful brown left. He hadn't quite gained the same weight around his middle as Stanford had and he clearly exhibited more energy - though he didn't use it. Now, his dressing style, however, remained frozen in the past, and not from the decade when he disappeared either...

It was obvious that his aging had been halted during his thirty year disappearance, though he had not discussed what happened during those decades in depths. He had explained the deal with Bill Cipher that had resulted in his disappearance, but the rest remained obscure. The twins weren't sure if he had even told Stanford.

Mabel threw Dipper the car keys when he returned - it was their first full day in Gravity Falls, making it his turn to drive. A few minutes into their drive she looked to her twin.

"So what did Stanley want last night?"

"Same as always. _Don't go chasing Bill Cipher, Dipper. Now_ gobblewonkers _, that's where its at_. Honestly, last time I dealt with Bill, he sought _me_  out." Dipper groaned and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, remembering his brief experience with demonic possession

"C'mon, bro-bro, he's just looking out for you," she pointed out, eyebrows creased.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, then paused. "So is Pacifica meeting us, too, or is it just Candy and Grenda?"

After Dipper had convinced Pacifica to break the lumberjack's curse, her relationship with the Pines had strengthened considerably. She still held the blue blooded attitude, but after breaking her dependence on her parents to direct her thoughts and actions, she had come around to the idea that the common people weren't so bad. Change didn't happen quickly; it had taken a few summers for her to form a strong bond with the twins. Her shift in allegiance and built up self-reliance had paid off, however, as now even Dipper didn't mind her presence, while Mabel had pulled her into being best friends.

"Of course Pacifica is coming! She can't miss mini golf."

"Wonder who's gonna win this time."

Part of the best friendship between Mabel and Pacifica was the blonde giving her a few professional pointers on the game. At the end of last summer the two had come to a tie, without cheating and both working at their full potential. Mabel had spent much of their time away at college practicing the game, hopes high that this would be the year she would win.

"Its gonna be me!" Mabel chirped confidently.

It was Candy that saw them first when they entered the diner. She and Grenda immediately surrounded Mabel in a happy reunion while Dipper and Pacifica hung back. Hands shoved in his pockets, he slipped over to the blonde's side.

"Pacifica."

"Dipper."

"What's up with your hair?"

"I _curled_  it."

He cleared his throat. "Looks good." He may be able to tolerate Pacifica now but simple compliments were the most he could ever really muster up. Pacifica nodded then moved away. The excited squeals coming from the other three had died down a bit so the blonde approached Mabel, pulling her into a hug and mumbling "Its good to see my girl again!"

He liked his twin's friends but that's what the three of them were: _Mabel's_  friends. He still had Soos, who had started up his own repair business some years previously. After Stanley had returned, he had done a great amount of the work dismantling the portal, winning extra favor from the older twins. That, and growing popularity with his web video series, had contributed to his starting up his own business. His was the number one repair service in town now considering he could fix anything and everything, albeit mostly with duct tape.

And there was Wendy, who had remained in town and gotten into the lumber industry. As she put it, "Someone has to keep this town running," which was a reasonable statement as the industry was a major drive of the city's economy. He knew she had bigger aspirations and was planning on enrolling in the community college in the fall, though most of their conversations when he was out of town were on lighter topics. The redhead had remained the coolest person he knew, even without a crush on her rosily tinting his image of her.

Dipper had plans to hang out with Soos and Wendy over the weekend - still a few days away - leaving him to tag along with his twin. He wasn't overly fond of the squealing, explicit talk of boys, and whatever else it was that girls were interested in, but it beat being dragged into being a fake prop for the Mystery Shack any day. Pacifica and Mabel's reunion had been brief - the blonde always had a good deal of self-restraint - and afterwards they sat down at a booth. The two sat down on one side while Grenda and Candy faced them, forcing Dipper to pull up a chair, not that he minded much.

"Well a major in business, of course. My dad _is_  going to leave me his business after all, so I might as well learn to run it right," Pacifica shrugged, glancing over the diner's menu. The college discussion had come up sooner than Dipper had expected.

"Are you happy with it?" Mabel asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Its alright. Dad's always talking about his business anyway so I already know a lot about it. Besides, I would rather take business than any of the other courses they offer."

Dipper began to tune out their talk. Mabel had known long ago that she would major in art and afterwards launch her career in fashion and design. Dipper himself was studying creative writing though he would go into journalism later to provide a more practical career (and give him a viable excuse to continue investigating Gravity Falls as an adult). Grenda was still with some rich kid she had met years ago and was studying politics with a minor in German to immerse herself in the world he had introduced her to. She was blunt and outspoken, which she was working to her advantage when it came to her study. Candy had always had a knack for inventing and had chosen a major to match it while running a highly popular photography blog on the side.

The college discussion was worn; it was what Stanley and Dipper were talking about that morning that interested him. Poring over the pages of _Lesser Key_ , Stanley told him how he had been searching for the book as well, years ago, but was warned away from it. When Dipper pressed as to why he had ultimately not gotten the book when it was so widely referenced in demonology, Stanley had shrugged and mumbled that he remembered reading something negative about it.

"I think it was an article I came across. Or maybe a passage in some book. All I remember is that it turned out not to be as reliable as I had hoped. And considering how difficult it is to find, I didn't think it was worth it to track it down and just have it be a disappointment. Why read false information when you can discover the truth yourself?"

Dipper hadn't thought twice about the excuse that morning, but as he gave his order to a young waitress - Lazy Susan had retired a couple of years before - it began to tug at his attention. He zoned out while the others talked, while their food was brought, while he mechanically emptied his plate.

He could understand deciding not to read something because of negative reviews, but did such a thing even exist for _Lesser Key_? How could a manuscript take centuries to be compiled then just be dismissed by a passing article or passage? It didn't seem right. It contrasted with everything he had read about _The Lesser Key_ _of Solomon_. Impatience crept up on him but he shoved it down; he would enjoy his first day back in Gravity Falls and _then_  he would interrogate Stanley when they got home.

So plans don't always work out as one hopes. Dipper had learned that much when he had cloned himself several times when he was younger, but it didn't exactly ease his curiosity and frustration with Stanley and _Lesser Key_. His plans for translating the Latin text and questioning Stanley had crumbled right alongside Pacifica's plan of winning mini golf.

"As the supreme winner of mini golf, I declare we go out for ice cream!" Mabel had announced after they had checked the scores. Candy, Grenda, and Dipper had cheered for her while Pacifica offered a smile when she had come out as the victor. He knew how hard she had worked for this, so he pushed his own work out of his mind and tried to enjoy the evening without seeming impatient. Stanley being locked up in his bedroom asleep when the twins returned resulted in a rather crestfallen Dipper, but Mabel's grin and wish for his having a good night was more than enough to perk him back up. His questions could be delayed but he needed his twin to remain in her brilliant mood, needed her to be happy.

Still in a light mood from watching the epic mini golf tournament and with the taste of chocolate lingering on his tongue, he sat back in bed and opened the book back up to the beginning pages. He had spent all day trying to be patient in reading his book, but now that it was in his hands he had to read it quietly aloud to get himself to focus. His mind was blank and he could feel sleep edging its way into his system, but nevertheless he tried to get through one of the pages.

" _The first part is a Book of Evil Spirits, called Goetia, showing how he bound up those Spirits, and used them in general things, whereby he obtained great fame_."

A yawn escaped his lips before he could swallow it.

" _The second part_..."

Perhaps he should just aim for half of the page.

"... _named Theurgia-Goetia_..."

He wasn't going to make it that far. Weakly throwing the book aside, he extinguished the light beside him and immediately fell asleep.

That night he slept uneasily.

* * *

 

The color drained from the world around him. Pushing himself off his bed, his feet thudded against grey floorboards. His attic room was dim but the lack of color around him was unmistakable, jarring even, but he wasn't surprised.

Dipper had known he would meet Bill Cipher again, someday, and the mindscape was the only reality in which he could really exist. With Gideon out of the way he figured Bill wouldn't be able to find anyone willing enough to strike a deal with so that he could revisit to the physical world. This suited Dipper just fine; the last thing he needed was Bill leaving the confines of the mindscape on his own.

Heaving a sigh, Dipper left the attic in search of Bill. The demon obviously wanted something, or else he wouldn't be here, and he wanted to get this over with. Warily trudging into the living room, Dipper met the golden glow emanating from the demon.

He stepped up in front of Bill, frowning at the menace as he lounged on the couch as if this was a normal occurrence. His eye was closed, but he opened it and looked up at Dipper in what could only be described as surprise when the brunet cleared his throat.

"PINE TREE!"

"What, Bill?" Dipper's voice came out more harshly than he intended, to his delight.

"WHY, PINE TREE! IS THAT ANY WAY TO TREAT A GUEST?" Bill Cipher floated off the couch and placed a small hand on his bow tie in mock horror. "I JUST CAME HERE TO WARN YOU ABOUT THAT BOOK OF YOURS. WHAT'S IT CALLED? THE LESSER KEY OF SALAMANDER?"

"Solomon?"

"OH. WELL, SOLOMON WAS WORTH AS MUCH AS A SALAMANDER ANYWAY. AND THAT'S NOT MUCH, KID."

"So wait..." Dipper held up a hand, momentarily stopped Bill from continuing. "Are you the one that kept Stanley from reading the book?"

"I WOULDN'T SAY _KEEP_. LET'S JUST SAY I GAVE HIM SOME FRIENDLY ADVICE. THE SAME I'M GIVING YOU RIGHT NOW!"

"Alright, what is it? What's so wrong with the book that you have to call people into the mindscape and give it a bad review?"

"ITS MORE THAN A BAD REVIEW, KID. I'M TRYING TO WARN YOU, PINE TREE! THAT BOOK IS MORE TROUBLE THAN ITS WORTH. UNRELIABLE, BASED ON THE WORDS OF DEAD MEAT BAGS, FILLED WITH STRANGE DRAWINGS AND UNCLEAR DESCRIPTIONS; DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DEAL WITH ALL THAT?"

"Yes! I didn't pay forty dollars for nothing!" Dipper's voice was rising, frustration painting his tone.

"EASY, PINE TREE. I'M JUST TRYING TO HELP! THAT BOOK IS BAD NEWS. I MEAN, YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN A DANGER MAGNET-" a series of scenes from when Dipper had gotten himself into near death experiences flashed across Bill Cipher's form - "BUT THIS? YOU'RE PLAYING WITH INFORMATION THAT ITS _AUTHORS_  COULDN'T HANDLE. SERIOUSLY, KID, JUST TAKE MY FRIENDLY ADVICE!"

"Or what?"

Bill moved his hand to rub the area under his eye as though he were thinking. "WELL, THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES, BUT THIS ONE SEEMS TO BE THE MOST LIKELY."

He snapped his fingers and a clone of Mabel appeared. Well, no, perhaps not clone. This Mabel was just as bright as the real one. But there was no way it was the real Mabel, Dipper couldn't even consider that a possibility. It was just an illusion the demon had created - this was the mindscape after all. This was the dream demon's playground.

Dipper looked on as Bill leaned forward with his eye wide, clearly excited. He glanced back at the brunet quickly before returning his attention to Mabel. "THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD."

With another snap of his fingers, blue fire licked at his hand. And engulfed Mabel's figure. The flames may have been the wrong color, but they clearly functioned as real fire in this instance as Mabel cried out in pain. Her tortured screams pierced the air as the fire bit into her skin, charring the pale flesh.

He yelped and ran towards his burning twin, but Bill held him back with a small arm. The demon turned to him, making Dipper split his attention between the fire and Bill Cipher in frantic looks.

"YOU AND GLASSES, YOU TWO ARE A RIOT! YOU MORE SO, PINE TREE - NO ONE PANICS QUITE LIKE YOU! JUST TAKE MY ADVICE, KID. I SHOWED GLASSES THIS SAME THING," Bill's body was illuminated with the image of Stanley on his knees as he watched a younger Stanford disappear in blue fire, "AND HE GOT THE HINT. LOOK AT HIM NOW, CAN'T EVEN ADMIT WHY HE STOPPED SEARCHING FOR THE BOOK! YOU BETTER FOLLOW HIS LEAD, PINE TREE!"

The brunet had peered at Bill long enough to see the scene featuring the older Pines twins, though now his sight was directed solely on Mabel. He didn't feel himself drop to his knees with a dull thud and his jaw drop involuntarily, much in the same position that Stanley was in, as Mabel's form was burned beyond recognition. Tears blurred his vision but he hastily wiped them away, his gaze locked on his sister - what _was_  his sister - in disbelief and despair. His stomach lurched and he was sure he would be sick if he watched any longer. He desperately wished he hadn't asked _or what_  earlier; this was beyond his coping skills.

"LOOKS LIKE YOU GET THE POINT, PINE TREE! KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF THAT BOOK OR LOSE SHOOTING STAR." He waited as Dipper nodded hurriedly, no longer able to choke back his sobs. "GOOD JOB. NOW I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT BUSINESS TO DEAL WITH SO... Ｌ̝̪͚̲̐̈́̈́ͫ̈ͯＥ̸̋ͩ̏ͩ͏̭̦̠͕̠̲Ａ̹̳̞̪̬̩̙̹͌̄̅̓̈̽͜Ｖ̶̬̗̻͒Ｅ͎̼̹̘̯͖͈̬̎̇͊̓ͦ̾́̚̕!"

Bill Cipher flicked Dipper's temple with his fingers as the blue fire was extinguished, leaving only ashes.

He woke up in the world of color with a gasp and whimper.


	3. Sigil

"Here, kid."

Stanley poured some Vodka from a bottle the Stans kept around into a tumbler and slid it over the kitchen table to Dipper. He gave Stanley a questioning look but was too tired to protest, instead just knocking back the liquid.

When Bill Cipher snapped him out of his restless sleep earlier, Dipper had immediately responded by rushing to Mabel's room clumsily. His sheets had knotted themselves around his ankles as he slept, throwing him off balance from the second he had gotten to his feet. And if his heavy tramping down the stairs towards Mabel's room wasn't enough, he had also thrown in his screaming her name the entire way, waking up the shack in the process. By the time he had slammed her door open he was a wreck: sweat dampening his forehead, face pale, hair messy, incoherent sobs escaping his throat, and tears blurring his vision.

His stomach had churned as he turned on the light with shaking hands, terrified that the demon had _actually_  done something to his twin. Dipper had had some scream-inducing nightmares in the past - nightmares where he was trapped, dying, even dead - but _never_  had he faced a dream where Mabel had been harmed. As long as he was present, he would never let her be hurt, and this attitude had carried over even to his sleep.

Relief had washed over him when he noticed Mabel get up and walk over to him, not a hair on her head out of place. His breathing remained heavy, but his calls for her ceased once he had registered that she was well. Heart thumping in his ears, he had pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his head into her shoulder as sobs still shook his frame. It was through dim ears that he heard her ask him frantically what was wrong, through numb nerves that he felt her hang onto him. Her being alive, out of Bill Cipher's grasp, was enough to calm him down considerably, though he was still hiccuping and shaking when the older Pines twins had caught up to him and lingered in the doorway to Mabel's room.

Dipper had refused to let Mabel go, clutching her hand when Stanley directed them to follow him to the kitchen. Wiping away the tears from his eyes roughly, he forced himself to follow them. After the panicked race to Mabel's room his reflexes had slowed considerably, leaving him unaware when Stanley muttered something to Stanford - making the latter change his course - until later. He had leaned back into a chair at the kitchen table when told, weakly guiding his twin to sit next to him, and fallen silent afterwards.

Pushing away the glass and running a still slightly trembling hand through his hair, he watched as his great-uncle entered the kitchen and threw _The Lesser Key of_ _Solomon_  onto the table in front of Dipper. Stanford dropped into the chair across from Mabel while Stanley refilled the tumbler with Vodka for the brunet with a look that hinted at empathy. Beside him, Mabel leaned against his shoulder, waiting for her twin to speak.

"Okay, kid, why the hell did you wake us all up?" Stanford started gruffly.

Everything that he had seen, everything that Bill Cipher had shown him, hit his consciousness once more. Another wave of nausea that the demon's "friendly warning" had produced. The initial shock had worn off, though, enough to where Dipper's need for understanding overpowered his fear.

 _Mabel is alive_.

Dipper stared at Stanley, ignoring the previous speaker. "Y-you, Bill Cipher showed you... _that_  too." He was started to regain his voice. "He showed me, he showed me when you watched Grunkle Stan... All because of that book. He told me it was a warning not to read that book." His voice was getting louder, his words running together. "He said _Lesser Key_ was unreliable, dangerous, something I shouldn't read. He told me that if I continued it Mabel would-"

 _Mabel is alive_.

He gulped. Stanley would understand. Stanley would remember, would know what he couldn't say.

"Spit it out kid." According to his voice, Stanford was obviously tense and growing impatient.

 _Mabel is alive_.

"Bill met me in the mindscape, told me that _Lesser Key_ would cause more trouble for me." He willed his voice to be calm as he started over. "That it was unreliable, that even the authors of the book couldn't handle it. Or something like that. And when I asked him what would happen if I continued, he made Mabel appear. An apparition of her, I guess. And then he-"

 _Mabel is alive_.

"-set her on fire. He set Mabel on fire." His voice had fallen in volume considerably, tone vehement, a hiss. "He said this was the best part, that setting Mabel was on fire was _the best part_. And then he told me he showed you the same thing, he flashed the scene on his body, y'know, of you watching Grunkle Stan."

 _Mabel is alive_.

His eyesight was locked on the table, not even bothering to glance at Stanley as he addressed him. He felt Mabel stiffen beside him. "And by the time he had finished she was already..."

He didn't need to finish. He couldn't. Dipper snatched up the tumbler of Vodka and downed the liquor, silently grateful that its burning taste and after effect woke up his senses a bit. His thoughts kept pulling back to the three word mantra, pressing himself to remember that Bill Cipher was still in the mindscape and posed no real threat outside of some empty threats and inflicted nightmares. He couldn't touch Mabel, not in the physical world.

No one spoke, giving Dipper the excuse to rest his chin on his forearms and lean against the table. Mabel rubbed his back comfortingly, trying to make up for her obvious speechlessness. Stanford had glanced at his twin, trying to place when the event Dipper described could have possibly transpired, though Stanley didn't seem too forthcoming about it.

"You guys aren't going to take away the book, are you?" Dipper idly traced his fingers along nicks in the table. Only a dull sadness remained from his earlier panic as he subconsciously forced down all of the terror and desperation and grief. The empty calm that followed on the heels of emotional episodes had finally kicked in, to his relief. "I just got it. And I paid forty bucks for it. I searched forever for it."

"Why would you want to _keep_  it?" Stanford snapped.

Stanley winced next to him, low key enough so that no one had noticed. Hadn't he reacted the same? He had searched for the grimoire before, had received the same warning. He had let himself be deterred. In retrospect, was his going out to find his own method any better?

Grimacing, he shook his head. "No. Keep it."

"No?!" Stanford cried out automatically, standing up. "The kid literally sees his sister die, Mabel now has a death threat, and you're okay with him keeping the book? This is so typical of you! Why is it that you have to put all these damn books ahead of your own family?!"

Stanford pushed his chair back and started towards his room.

"Stanford!" Stanley stumbled a few steps in his direction, earning a glare from his twin.

"No, obviously you can handle this on your own. Keep your book." The conman hurried from the room resolutely. Stanley winced when the sound of a bedroom door being slammed shut reverberated throughout the shack seconds later.

"Perhaps we should go back to bed..." Stanley suggested after a few uncomfortably silent moments. He was obviously stunned after the short outburst, though he struggled to keep his face blank.

"No, no, no, I'm not going back to sleep." Dipper burrowed himself into his arms and dug his fingernails into his messy hair. He only relaxed when Mabel threw her arms around him.

"How come you want Dipper to keep the book?"

Stanley was visibly startled by Mabel's quiet voice, cracking from restrained worry. After a second of thought he answered: "Bill Cipher obviously wants to keep us away from the book. He doesn't care about us being harmed; if he did he wouldn't have sent me away for decades and possessed Dipper. Whatever is in this book, it must be a danger to him, major enough for him to threaten anyone who comes close. Its a desperate tactic - threatening a person by promising harm upon their loved ones - but he has the manipulative skills to pull it off. It must be safer to disregard his statement. Obviously doing the opposite doesn't work."

"So..." Dipper sat up and looked at Stanley wearily. "That's what you did, right? That's why you stopped looking for the book. But then you just found out how to summon Bill when you were writing the journals. So what's the point?"

"Yeesh, kid, haven't you been reading the book?" He waited for Dipper to shake his head. The brunet really hadn't had time to sit down and read the book with complete focus as of yet. "Well, my summoning spell is only a prototype. It only went through a few years of development. The spells in _Lesser Key_  have had centuries to be perfected. They're more powerful than anything my spell could muster."

"... _showing how he bound up those Spirits, and used them in general things_ ," Dipper recalled after a minute of deep thought.

"So you get to have control over demons. That's what that means, right?" Mabel asked.

"Precisely. Well, not complete control. But enough to force a demon into cooperating with you over a number of things without having to make a deal," Stanley corrected.

"What things?" Dipper asked.

Stanley furrowed his eyebrows, frustration painting his face. "I was hoping that book says, but I really don't know. Everything I know about the book I gleamed from other texts, so my knowledge is limited as to what's actually in there."

"Oh," Dipper sighed. He paused, slowly tossing Stanley's words around in his mind. "Hey. If you don't want me seeking out Bill, how come you're even letting _me_ keep this book? You're so worried about him coming back, why don't _you_ just keep the book? Wouldn't he rather go to you for _Lesser Key_  and stay away from me then?"

He waited as the older man sat back down and leaned against his chair. "Even after I had listened to him about _Lesser Key_ , Bill Cipher still came back to me. He promised me access to alternative information in its stead, and I made a deal with him to get it. He seeks out specific people, not just anyone who happens to own a book. And since he seems set on you, I'm afraid he might strike up another deal with you and do the same thing he did to me. Its best to let you keep the book as some sort of leverage over him."

"Can..." Mabel started. "Can he do that? Can he make another deal with Dipper? You said he only made the one with you."

"Hm. I don't really know. I only ever needed the one. I don't see why he couldn't though," Stanley shrugged. "In any case a deal should be avoided anyway. Its best not to take chances. The path I took led to a deal, so we'll try the other one now."

Mabel nodded before glancing at the clock. 6 AM. That certainly explained why powder blue now lightened the sky and the beginning of chirped melodies outside.

"C'mon, Dipper," Mabel stood up and stretched. "I've had enough demon talk for one night. Wanna go watch the Used To Be About History channel?"

Dipper took her offered hand and followed her to the living room, grabbing the Vodka on his way out just in case. Stanley offered them 'good night' and padded back to his room. _The Lesser Key of Solomon_  remained on the table.  

* * *

 

"On second thought, the Vodka was a bad idea," Dipper groaned, setting the nearly empty bottle on the floor in front of the couch. He had the excuse that the imaginary death of his sister lingered in his memory, though that didn't make the piercing headache any more tolerable.

"Already on that, bro-bro," Mabel hummed, returning from the kitchen.

They had both fallen asleep on the couch not long after turning on the television and while she had waken up a few hours ago, Dipper had not bothered regaining consciousness until 4 PM. At least this time around he had encountered no dreams during his slumber.

Mabel handed him a glass of brightly colored liquid and looked at him expectantly. He glanced between the cup and his sister a few times, trying to decide whether or not it was safe to drink, before accepting it reluctantly and draining it. When the glass was empty he made a sound of disgust and shoved the cup back at Mabel.

"This better work," he mumbled.

"It will," she chirped.

Dipper stared at her for a long moment. "Are you okay?"

She stopped on her path to the kitchen midway and looked at him, confused.

"Its just... you're so cheery. Bill Cipher is back and basically threatened you with death... and you're acting like nothing has happened."

"Tch, you think some dumb demon's gonna wreck my mood? We're back in Gravity Falls on summer vacation! Its time to be happy and have fun! I'm not gonna let some insecure triangle ruin the summer, nuh-uh." Dipper couldn't help but smile at her response. "Besides, whatever he throws at us we can handle. We got this. Mystery Twins!"

"Mystery Twins!" he called back as she left the room.

The brunet pushed himself off the couch, commenting to himself how optimism really was a superpower for his twin as he followed her into the kitchen. Stanley sat at the kitchen table, cup of coffee at his side and _Lesser Key_ in front of him.

Glancing over his shoulder, Dipper saw that he had the book open to the page containing the drawing of the wheel of symbols with Bill at the center and gulped.

In retrospect, how long did he seriously think he could have hid the page from the man who composed chapters in invisible ink and wrote notes in ciphers?

Noticing Dipper's presence, Stanley issued a 'good morning' before tapping on the page. "The wheel. I've never seen anyone else mark it down. I wonder if anyone else has been making deals with him and was able to write this in here."

"He's all-seeing, though, isn't he?" Dipper pointed out, sitting across from Stanley. He rested his head on his hand, observing that the throbbing in his head had begun to subside already. A brief thought to ask how Mabel had figured out the drink crossed his mind, but he ultimately decided to ignore it; some things should be left unknown.

"That doesn't mean he's always watching, though. Once he's done with you he moves on, focuses more on whoever he targets next. If someone had gotten through a deal with him, they may have been able to pull this off without him noticing. Or at least without him caring too much."

Dipper nodded in agreement then looked around. Before he could think twice he asked, "Where's Grunkle Stan?"

A frown tugged at Stanley's lips though he tried to come off as neutral as he answered that his twin was running the Mystery Shack. Dipper nodded again, looking away sheepishly.

"I finished the book, by the way. The important parts, anyway. Some of the text repeats which really saves on time," Stanley commented, showing some distaste with the last sentence. "Well, Bill Cipher was right when he said that the descriptions get pretty vague; I'll give him that."

"Will it help any with Bill? I mean, can we use it to bind him, like put him under our control and stuff?"

"Not from what I can see. The book says how to summon other demons - but not him. The Latin notes in here are vague riddles and some extra information on some of the demons. And the writing underneath the wheel is about the deals Bill Cipher makes. There's really not much on him."

Dipper wrinkled his nose. "So why did he bother warning us away if its not even _about_  him?"

"There's some handwritten notes about the other demons - expanded text on how to control them. Demonic relationships are different - for all we know they try to protect each other." Stanley sighed, clearly struggling to believe that explanation but finding no better. Pushing the book and a paper containing his translations of the Latin notes, he got up and went to help out with the shop.

Dipper idly pulled the book over to him, flipping through the pages of symbols and scanning Stanley's translations. A dull headache still dimmed his concentration but he did his best to ignore it. After a few minutes he turned back to the wheel and stared at it blankly, lost in disconnected thought.

"Whatcha thinking about, bro-bro?" Mabel asked, sitting down next to him with yarn and knitting needles in her hands.

"This grimoire has a list of demons in it, along with their sigil - basically these symbols here. I was just thinking about how those and the wheel with Bill in it are..." Dipper trailed off, sitting up a bit and regaining his focus.

"...are?"

"Mabel. The wheel is a sigil."


	4. Gold

"Bill and Stanley were right: these descriptions are impossibly vague," Dipper groaned. He rubbed his eyes and pushed _The Lesser Key of Solomon_  away from him in irritation.

The bulk of the useful information in the grimoire were sigils - symbols that denoted the true names of demons. Should someone call upon a demon and wear their sigil upon their necks, the summoner would gain control over them. There was, however, little information on the summoning and binding of the demon beyond that within the text.

A majority of the translated Latin Stanley had written on a paper kept within the book was extended information of the demons. The book already listed the specific powers the demons had next to their sigils, but the Latin notes went beyond that in telling summoners what all they could make the bound entities do for them. At least those parts were clear - the few riddles written were vague. Hell, the riddles could have nothing to do with the book or the Pines family at all. The only connection that might exist is that the people referenced in the riddles could have made deals with Bill Cipher as well.

 _The originator will be reversed. He pined for him from the first. She didn't know that she could breathe. A deal could not set him free. And the boy who comes will solve the mystery_.

Theories came to Dipper's mind about the riddle, though how many times had he just ended up _wrong_? He couldn't be certain.

Mabel picked up the book and skimmed through the text, nodding in agreement a moment later. After Dipper had connected Bill's wheel to being a sigil, the twins had gone up to the attic to consult with his other books. They sat now on the floor in front of his bed, around them a few grimoires were opened to pages that had possible clues.

Pushing his hands back through his hair, Dipper got up and shook out his backpack of the books they had yet to go through. A few thin books landed on his bed as well as the last grimoire: _The Key of Solomon_. He had found the book online easily some years ago, but being bored by the focus on planetary positions instead of demons, had abandoned it before even finishing the first chapter. As he understood it, it was _The Lesser Key of Solomon_  that was more useful in demonology.

"Which one is that?" his sister asked, scooting over next to him when he sat back down.

"Er, its kinda like the inspiration of _Lesser Key_ , I think. It deals more with astrology than demons and stuff so I never finished it," Dipper shrugged.

"Okay well if its the inspiration then it has to have stuff on demonology. Give me that." Mabel snatched the book away from him and flipped through the pages until leaving it open to the third chapter. "There."

He read the first page of the chapter then looked at Mabel wearily. The paged outlined the purification process for a group of people - this was a religious text after all. "One, we don't have a master and disciples. Two, I'm not bathing in _holy water_."

She made a sound of exasperation and pointed to the second page. "I never said someone has to follow word for word! But its talking about conjurations and circles so I figure we can read _some_  of it!"

Peering back down at the book, Dipper skimmed through a few pages that described how to make a Circle used for conjuring and bounding demons. He glanced back at Mabel, "I didn't think you really listened to me when I talk about demonology, about the Circles and all that. I mean, you always look so bored..."

"That's because you talk about it _all the time_ , bro! First it was the mysteries of this town, and then when we left all you did was alter the subject a little. I was bound to remember _some_  of it after hearing you talk about it so much! Even in your sleep!"

"No way, I don't talk in my sleep."

"Pft, you keep believing that, but just know that you talk about Bill Cipher a lot in your sleep. Honestly, Dipper, there's more than one reason we no longer share a room!"

Dipper frowned, trying to think of a rebuttal. After a minute of trying to decide on which lame comeback he had thought of was best, he shook his head. " _Anyway_. So, _Lesser Key_  talks about sigils, and we know Bill's sigil is that wheel, and this grimoire tells about how to actually summon demons. Now what?"

"Now we declare this mystery in how to summon Bill through sigil solved and move onto a new mystery," Mabel said firmly, taking _The Key of Solomon_  back and closing it.

"Hey!" Dipper reached for the book but Mabel stood up and took a few steps back.

"No way, Dipper. Bill causes trouble enough without you calling him into our world."

"Why did you help me figure this all out then? And even Stanley is for this!" Dipper got to his feet.

"No, he's for Bill staying as far away as possible. Now we know what he didn't want us to know, maybe he'll stay away! And if he comes back we can just threaten him with this _bounding spirits_ stuff. He'll get the hint and leave!" Mabel's voice rose as she grasped the book tightly.

"Or he won't and we'll wish we had summoned him this way sooner so that we could order him into no longer being a threat!"

"Dipper..." Mabel's voice dropped to a pleading tone. "Bill wouldn't be a danger if we just left him in the mindscape and threatened him to stay away. C'mon, Dip, _I'm_  supposed to be the spontaneous one. And what you're talking about doing is borderline insane!"

"So basically you want us to wait around for him and when he returns to threaten _us_ again we'll just have to hope the mention of the book makes him stay away. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?! We're leaving ourselves practically defenseless while he can keep doing worse in the mindscape, while he's why Stanley was gone for thirty years and you have a death threat!"

She tried to look steady in her earlier decision, though it was clear Mabel had faltered slightly. Clutching the book tightly to her chest, Mabel shot towards the attic door before Dipper could react and raced downstairs. His footsteps chased hers but she had slipped into the tourist shop before he could catch up. Finding Stanford just finishing with some customers, she pulled him away.

It was _that_  situation again, or that's how she perceived it. Her first instinct was to blame Bill Cipher - he was trying to tear apart the family again. Grunkle Stan had wanted to get rid of _Lesser Key_  while Dipper wanted to press forward, and with the finale to the mystery in her hands she was once more in a position to choose which path to take.

Still gripping it tightly, Mabel showed Stanford the title of the book. "We can actually call Bill Cipher with this and put him under our control. I know you don't like all of this, but Dipper says we can stop him before he threatens us anymore. You knew what to do last time something major happened. And, I mean, I know it broke Dipper and me apart for sometime last time, but what if something _worse_  happens? Should I give this back to him?"

Mabel looked to him with an expression of confusion and concern.

Stanford remained quiet for a moment, thinking back to when Stanley became more involved with the mysteries of Gravity Falls, leading to his disappearance.

"Mabel..."

* * *

 

Dipper stopped before entering the Mystery Shack after Mabel. His getting aggressive over an issue wouldn't help anything, he had learned that much - though applying it remained difficult. He dropped onto the living room couch and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

"Honestly we need some new material," Stanley grumbled to himself as he returned to the house after leading a tour. He closed the door behind him and sat down next to Dipper.

He had started leading tours for the Mystery Shack after returning - though a bit hesitantly. Stanford's turning his former house into a tourist trap wasn't a pleasing thought to him, but it was an income they needed so he tried not to complain. His dissatisfaction on the lack of originality in many of the exhibits along the tour had remained vocal, however.

The age difference between the older twins had remained visible, leaving the town residents to ask whether Stanley was a younger brother or son to Stanford. They answered yes to both as neither cared to fix up an elaborate lie, and the confusion of the other citizens was rather amusing. It remained another mystery of the Mystery Shack.

"What's with you, kid?"

"We figured out how exactly to summon and bound Bill Cipher but Mabel took away the book completing the process," Dipper deadpanned. Why bother avoiding the subject now? As long as she withheld _The Key of Solomon_ it would remain impossible to actually do.

"You mean you actually figured out how to control Bill Cipher?" Stanley gasped, grabbing Dipper's upper arm to pull him up so that they would have to make eye contact. "I figured out how to summon him to try to make a deal, but kid, he wouldn't be able to refuse if you wanted him to do something within his power. How did you figure it out?"

Dipper recounted his afternoon, ending with how Mabel had snatched it away. "So I guess you agree with her, right? I mean, you only warn me about Bill every summer," he finished.

The older Pines frowned. He hated to admit it but his nephew was right: they could stop the demon before he did any more damage, before any deals impossible to refuse were presented. He hesitated, then said, "I think I agree with you more on this point. We should wait, though. Just holding onto _Lesser Key_  might scare him off for a bit. And then we can think over this thoroughly. That'd be best, Dipper... Dipper?"

Towards the end of Stanley's speech the youth had felt his eyelids grow heavy briefly before falling back against the couch, unconscious. Stanley stood up and called his name, trying to shake him awake after a few minutes of no response.

* * *

 

He groaned. "Are you kidding me?"

Dipper opened his eyes to a grey-washed living room void of Stanley. He knew Bill Cipher could force people into a trance-like state, but was it really necessary for him to interrupt the conversation?

"OF COURSE NOT, PINE TREE. I'M COMPLETELY SERIOUS." Bill Cipher floated just above the television. "YOU'RE GETTING AWFULLY CLOSE TO DOING SOMETHING I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO. DO YOU NEED A REMINDER?"

The demon held up a hand to snap his fingers, obviously referencing to his previous performance of burning Mabel, but was halted by Dipper screaming "No!"

"OH I THINK YOU DO, PINE TREE. I'VE ALWAYS ADMIRED YOUR PERSISTENCE, BUT ITS BECOMING QUITE THE NUISANCE. YOU'VE GOT GLASSES WORKING ON THE CASE WITH YOU NOW. I MEAN, NO SCREAMING HEAD FOR YOU, KID! YOU'VE BEEN DOING A TERRIBLE JOB LATELY." Bill laughed briefly before glowing red with the last sentence.

"Y'know, if you really wanted me to listen to you, you could've just asked instead showing me my sister dying!"

"PLEASE, KID, I'M NOT DUMB - UNLIKE YOU. YOU OBVIOUSLY NEEDED SOME MAJOR WARNING FOR YOU TO GET THE HINT. AND IT WORKED WELL ENOUGH. YOU HESITATED, DIDN'T YOU? I BET YOU WOULD'VE STAYED AWAY, TOO, BUT YOU GOT GLASSES INVOLVED AND HE'S LEADING YOU DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH."

"Really? A dangerous path? Says the demon who has possessed my body."

"GET OVER IT ALREADY, THAT PLAN FAILED. BUT YOU'RE REALLY PLAYING WITH FIRE NOW, KID, AND WHO ARE YOU GONNA LISTEN TO: THE GUY WHO GOT HIMSELF SENT AWAY FOR THIRTY YEARS OR AN ALL-KNOWING, OMNIPRESENT BEING WHO IS JUST TRYING TO LOOK OUT FOR YOU AND SHOOTING STAR?"

"The only person - er, thing? - you're looking out for is yourself!" Dipper leaned forward, growing frustrated. "Unless you have something good to say I'm waking up."

"HOLD YOUR HORSES, PINE TREE! CAN'T YOU AT LEAST HEAR ME OUT ON WHY YOU SHOULDN'T DO THIS?"

"No. I'm done with your threats. You went too far. And you're probably lying anyway - your threat against Mabel didn't even make sense. That book won't do harm to us - but it sure will to you."

Dipper finished with a sneer and mimicked Bill's action last time of flicking himself on the temple to wake himself up. The demon let him go willingly.

* * *

 

"Dipper? C'mon Dipdop, you have to wake up." Mabel's worried voice reached his now conscious mind.

She and Stanford had heard Stanley try to call Dipper awake and immediately came to see what was wrong. She now knelt on the couch cushion next to him as he opened his eyes. Stanley still stood before him and Stanford was lingering behind the couch.

"He talked to me again." Dipper rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly, leaning his elbows against his knees.

Stanford made a sound of disgust. "What did Cipher want now?"

"It was another warning about the book. Well, he didn't mention it, but it was implied. I left before he could say much," the brunet shook his head. He didn't find it necessary to retell how the demon had denounced Stanley. It was all lies as far as he was concerned.

Stanley sighed. "So he's not going to leave you alone. Not even for a while. I swear he's more adamant with you than he ever was with me."

Mabel reached behind her and pulled _The Key of Solomon_  forward from where she had left it on the couch when she first came to the living room. She held it for a second before shoving it into Dipper's hands. "Just do it, Dipper. He can't keep threatening us."

It was barely noticeable but Dipper saw her shudder. He knew well that Bill Cipher's threat against her had shaken her despite the optimism she masked it with.

He nodded and looked down at the book. "Thanks, Mabel."

"So what?" Stanford started. "We call Bill Cipher and then what? We have to deal with him in our world now? I can't say its the _wrong_  thing, but have you thought this through, kid? Yeah, you get free of any more threats and deals, but you'll still have to keep a tight leash on him. That damned demon is always up to something."

"But he'd also be considerably weaker in our world," the other Stan pointed out.

"Yeah, like when he possessed Dipper. That's how we defeated him!" Mabel added.

"He's your responsibility," Stanford concluded after a minute and pointed at Dipper, then walked away. "I've got to close up the shop."

"So how do we do this exactly?" Mabel asked once the older Pines had left.

Dipper huffed. "This is going to take a while. For one thing, according to _Lesser Key_  we're going to need a pendant made out of silver or gold - its Bill so we probably should go with gold - with the Pentagram of Solomon on one side and Bill's sigil on the other. And then we need to do the actual summoning on the proper day."

"Okay... so we need gold." Mabel frowned. This was turning out to be a bit more costly than the summoning process detailed in the Journals.

"Good thing Grunkle Stan collects it," Dipper snorted. "You must hear him sometimes, asking people if they collect gold. Well, its not with everyone - but he does that."

"Good luck getting any gold out of him, kid. Especially for what we're using it for," Stanley laughed lightly.

"How are we going to do this then?" Dipper asked, frustration painting his tone.

"Well Stanford isn't the only one smart enough to buy gold. You don't need much anyway, I'll get you enough." Stanley walked towards the front door, earning a look from the younger twins that he didn't see.

"Are we gonna be that weird when we're their age?"

"If not more so," Dipper replied, expression blank. "At least we got the gold. One of us is going to have to paint the pentagram and sigil on the gold. Probably Stanley since he did all the illustrations in the Journals."

"You know who's really good at painting? Pacifica."

"Really?"

"Really, she's creepy good at holding her hand still."

"Huh. Well, perhaps we'll have her paint the sigil instead," Dipper suggested teasingly.

"No! I don't want her involved in all this. Bill isn't the nicest of triangles."

"Well, you're not wrong."

While they waited for Stanley's return Dipper fetched _Lesser Key_  from the attic and the twins worked out exactly when they had to perform the summoning. He wrote the time and date on a spare piece of paper and placed it in _Lesser Key_.

"This thing seriously says we have to wait until Sunday? What if Bill bothers us in the meantime?"

"We just won't sleep," Dipper said nonchalantly, earning a punch in the arm from Mabel. "We'll just focus on actually preparing for it, I guess. Though that reminds me."

He pulled out his cell phone and shot Wendy and Soos a text, asking for a reschedule of their plans. He figured it would take some time to prepare for the summoning - perfecting the pendant and memorizing the words and so forth - so he pushed their plans back to the following week. Dipper sighed and leaned back.

"And now. We wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand that's the last of the "setting up" chapters! Things will get more intense during the next chapter.  
> I also want to thank everyone for the views & kudos! It honestly amazes me how much attention Sigil has already gotten before we even get to the good parts. Thank you all so much for the support!


	5. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for animal death/sacrifice and body horror  
> Just in case anyone wonders:  
> [Magical Circle & Magical Triangle of Solomon](http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Mathers-Goetia/pages/124-The-magical-Circle/124-The-magical-Circle-q100-363x500.jpg)  
> [Hexagram of Solomon](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TdOGrJK0w9Y/VLUypI3b3gI/AAAAAAAABV4/96VEaOJiFX0/s1600/Hexagram.Hexagonal.Seal.Of.Solomon.Lemegeton.Goetia.Summoning.spirits.Magic.Occult.Diagram.Symbol.Talisman.Lamen.Tau.Tetragrammaton.Alpha.Omega.Agla.Asterion.jpg.jpg)

6 am.

He rose before Mabel and Stanley had the chance to wake up. Stuffing _The Key of Solomon_  and _The Lesser Key of Solomon_  in a backpack and grabbing the pendant that had been finished days before, he set out. The other two had wanted to be there for the summoning, but as Sunday drew closer, he had come to resolve that he needed to do this on his own.

_Dipper_  was the one who Bill Cipher had come to - he should handle this on his own.

If anything went wrong, only he would be harmed. Mabel would be safe.

So he had packed most of the supplies he would need for the summoning the day before and made the plans to sneak out alone. Stanley had finished the pendant with neat perfection - a circle of gold with the pentagram on one side and Bill's sigil on the other. A small hole was punctured towards the top, wide enough to let a gold chain slip through so that Dipper could wear it around his neck as instructed.

He clasped the chain and pendant around his neck and closed the front door quietly behind him.

As he had read on about the summoning process, the supplies needed became more complex. He could deal with a golden pendant etched with the necessary symbols - but the _parchment of calf's skin_? Internet shopping was a blessing as he was able to get the calf skin and the linen that was supposed to cover it, along with all of the chalk needed, before Friday. When he had gotten the skin, he drew a hexagon within a circle in black, then wrote magic words necessary to complete it in red and yellow. His skill with needle and thread was nil so he got Mabel to sew the linen and skin together along the top. According to  _Lesser Key_ showing the Hexagram of Solomon to the summoned demon would make them appear as human.

Well, it was better than making a triangle appear.

Once it was completed, he had placed the material in the backpack, along with a knife, chalk to color in the summoning Circle, candles and matches, and measuring tape Mabel had so that he could measure the Circle correctly. With the supplies collected, he then pored over _The Key_  with Stanley to make sure the words for the conjuration would work for their goal. The original text had called upon all demons, but they figured replacing "demons" with "triangulum" as Stanley's summoning spell read would work in calling Bill specifically. They rewrote this portion of the text and had declared themselves prepared for Sunday.

They would call upon Bill Cipher to appear - in human form! - and put him under their command. Easy.

Slipping on an old white jacket and shouldering his backpack, he made a beeline towards the forest. Considering his heavy connection with gold, they figured that Bill was a Chief King - one of the most powerful types of demons and associated with gold - which let them figure out when he could be summoned. According to his position and _Lesser Key_ he had to be summoned between 9 AM and noon. It was only a little past 6 AM now - Dipper had plenty of time to find a remote area of the forest to perform the spell alone with no threat of interruption.

Continuously checking his watch, Dipper made his way through the forest for roughly two hours before stopping. After the hours of rambling over reaching tree roots and ensnaring branches - not to mention the undergrowth that tugged at his ankles - he was thankful that he had remembered to bring a bottle of water along with his jacket. In that time the pale blue sky of early morning had deepened considerably from what he could see beyond the thick canopy of leaves.

A while after the two hour mark, he found a suitable small clearing in the forest. The interlaced branches of the towering pines shied away, leaving a space that featured the sky as its ceiling and a flat floor void of undergrowth. Setting the backpack aside, he sat down and rested for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath and slow his heartbeat. He couldn't have his voice shaky when performing the spell - it might not be as strong.

When his watch read 8:45 Dipper pushed himself to his feet and dug _Lesser Key_  and _The Key_  from his backpack and laid them open to the needed pages. The chalk, candles, and knife were laid next to the books. He then took the sewn calf skin and linen and tucked the top into his pants' waistband so that he could quickly lift up the linen and expose Bill to the Hexagram of Solomon when the time came. _Lesser Key_  had stated to wear the skin at the skirt of a vestment.

He wasn't going to wear a vestment, no way. It probably didn't matter in the long run anyway.

When his watch read 9:00 Dipper grabbed the knife and measuring tape. With a final glance at the magical Circle drawn in the beginning pages of _Lesser Key_ , he measured out nine feet with the tape and carefully copied the Circle into the earth with the knife. Trying not to jerk the blade too much against dry dirt, he then traced a crude serpent along the inner edge of the circle thrice around, writing in Hebrew text as he went. It was sometime before he got to draw in the magical words in the center, but everything was going smoothly so far at least.

After coloring in some of the symbols with chalk, he then drew the Magical Triangle of Solomon with its base two feet east of the Circle. This part was vastly easier as the triangle was only three feet across and not as heavily ornamented. He outlined the triangle in black, the words written alongside the outer edges in red, and shaded in a circle in the center of the triangle with green. The triangle was to be where the demon would appear.

Taking a brief second to admire his precise markings in the earth, Dipper stepped away from the Circle. Afterwards he grabbed the candles and set four down, forming a square around the Circle. He lit them then reentered the Circle. A deep breath to calm his nerves - he was actually doing this, he was actually calling Bill Cipher into his command.

_The Key of Solomon_  open in his hand, he turned to face each of the four candles then spoke: "These be the Symbols and the Names of the Creator, which can bring Terror and Fear unto you. Obey me then, by the power of these Holy Names, and by these Mysterious Symbols of the Secret of Secrets." He had tried to leave the majority of the religious references out of it, though some of them still seemed rather necessary, such as this passage.

That particular passage was supposed to make the demons be called upon to come forth, and as he said the words the color drained from the world. Trying to ignore this, he turned to the east and carried on:

"I conjure ye anew, and I powerfully urge ye, O Triangulum, in whatsoever part of the world ye may be, so that ye shall be unable to remain in air, fire, water, earth, or in any part of the universe, or in any pleasant place which may attract ye; but that ye come promptly to accomplish my desire, and all things that I demand from your obedience."

The grey world darkened for a moment while a golden light lit up the Magical Triangle of Solomon, as if the glow was taking in the rest of the world's light. Thinking quickly, Dipper shielded his eyes with one hand and lifted the linen hanging from his hip up with the other, showing off the Hexagram of Solomon to the entity. He kept his hand up even as the light in the triangle dimmed and leaked back into the world.

"Pine Tree."

Startled, he removed his hand from his eyes and whipped his head around to look towards the voice. He vaguely noticed that color had returned to his surroundings, but the majority of his attention was directed at the being sitting in the triangle.

It was the body of a child - but not a child. It was the _size_  of a child, no taller than four feet and so thin that angular bones protruded visibly under the skin. And oh, the skin, a horrendous shade of grey, pale and so close to sallow, skin that stuck to the bones. Darker grey skin ringed under three eyes, wide open - obviously void of eyelids - with the third being on the forehead. All three were illuminated in a dim gold, the only real color on the body. Wet, silver lips opened to reveal a small set of sharpened teeth, dark liquid - its blood? - pooling around its gums and covering the tongue thickly. Thin, pale blue hair covered its head and crept around its ears, dripped into the third eye. The blue was only broken by a jagged pair of white horns that had tried to grow from its forehead but were snapped just a few inches from the base. The body wasn't clothed but the small being had drawn its knees up to its chest, saving Dipper from seeing some of the nightmarish grey skin.

"B-Bill Cipher?" Dipper stammered, stepping closer. The demon was trapped in the triangle until Dipper let him out; he wouldn't be able to hurt him.

"Yes. Pine Tree. Why." The monotone voice kept it from being a question. The voice itself was raspy, strained, though the echo was now absent. Bill closed his mouth briefly, sucked in his cheeks, then spit out the black substance.

"To stop you from threatening us," the brunet answered slowly. He knelt down in front of Bill, staring at him. The demon was obviously exhausted, or else he would have protested this move. "Why are you like that? So..."

"Incomplete. Your stupid spell was incomplete. You're a dumb ass, Pine Tree." Black liquid was already streaming back into his mouth. "I beg of you, Pine Tree, end this. If I give you demonic powers will you send me away."

Dipper had almost forgotten that: demons were usually called upon so that humans could gain supernatural powers like turning invisible. The fact that that had fallen to the back of his mind just attested to how abnormal his situation was.

"That's not a bad idea... But no. You're here for something else. So, how do I fix this? There must be some way I can complete this after the fact, right?"

A string of images flashed across Bill's eyes quickly. Dipper just barely caught the image of some sort of bird and a man with brightly colored hair.

"I know what to do. Just do it for me, Pine Tree. Pain is hilarious but this..." Bill spit out another mouthful of what must be blood. "You caught me in between here and the mindscape. And this body is missing vital organs. I'm immortal and dying at the same time. I told you not to do this."

"And you threatened Mabel! Just deal with it, Bill. Tell me what to do to fix this. You're disgusting, to be honest."

"You missed the animal sacrifice, Pine Tree. Why didn't you get the second book of _The Key of Solomon_. Its amazing how dumb you are."

"Bill!"

"You need to kill a bird. Any will do. Bats are preferred but that's not happening _now_."

"And where do I find a bird?" Dipper retorted, frustrated.

"Listen. Just shut up and listen."

The brunet reluctantly followed his instructions and closed his mouth.

Chirping.

"You left me with little energy in this form, I can't help you. But you need to hurry. Its almost noon. That means-"

"I know what it means! I took too long. Just gimme a minute."

Grumbling to himself, he picked up the knife and followed the sound of chirping. Stopping behind a tree trunk, he removed his jacket and carefully placed the knife in his pocket, blade down and facing outwards. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he stepped out from behind the shadow of the tree and flung his jacket towards a bird he noticed. The jacket did the trick, to his relief, trapping the small animal under its weight. Dipper dashed forward and wrapped the cloth around the distressed bird enough to keep it within his grasp but not enough to suffocate it.

Jacket and bird nestled in his arms, he reentered the Circle and knelt in front of the demon. "Now what?"

"I don't give a damn about the words. Grab it. Kill it. With the knife. Then give it to me." The puddle of blood Bill was spitting out was growing wider and Dipper noticed that Bill was now forced to suck in oxygen when he didn't need air before.

Uncertainty painted on his face, Dipper carefully loosened his grasp on the cloth and caught the bird's body - some sort of songbird now that he looked at it. Instinctively afraid of getting pecked by the frightened animal, he jerked his knife from his pocket and cleanly sliced through the bird's neck. In the process he got drops of blood on his white jacket and the head hit his knee before rolling to the ground while the body grew still in his hand.

_Oh god_. Did he just-

What did he just do?

Dipper loved spells, but _animal sacrifice_? He dropped the beautifully feathered but now damaged body. His mind raced to grasp what he had just done but Bill stopped him before guilt could hit the brunet.

"Pine Tree. The bird. Tick-tock."

Feeling himself grow pale, he nodded sheepishly and pushed the severed head and body over into the Magical Triangle of Solomon. Despite covering his face with his hands, he peeked at the demon as a grey hand snatched up the sacrifice. Bill made a move to intake the small amount of blood but was interrupted by Dipper's cry of disgust.

"Is that... is that really necessary?" Dipper choked out.

"You killed _one bird_ and you're a wreck. You wouldn't be able to perform the proper spell for animal sacrifice. This is an alternative. Yes. It is necessary."

Bill then brought the small body to his lips and licked out what blood he could taste, spitting out any organs or bones he caught in his mouth unceremoniously. He repeated this process with the head but was met with disappointing results as not much blood was left. He pointed to Dipper's jacket.

"Give me."

Dipper nodded and handed it to him, mind blank. Without hesitation Bill licked what blood he could manage from the still wet jacket. This was sickening - but Bill's current body was even more sickening. If this produced a healthier body for him, it was worth it.

The color drained from the world once more, though for a shorter amount of time now. Golden light consumed Bill's small body, making Dipper avert his eyes again as the magic reworked his body. The brunet actually noticed color seeping back into the world this time, signalling to him that he could look back at Bill. His watch read 11:56.

In place of the ill body was a healthier, more normal looking one. Well, no, not _normal_. This new form was too gorgeous for normal. He was no longer the size of a child, though with his slouched posture an estimate for his new taller height was difficult. A thin layer of fat now hid away his bones enough to where his ribs only showed if he sucked in his breath, though his collarbones still protruded sharply. It was not heavy, but muscles were visible along his limbs. Grey skin was now tanned golden and the shadows under his eyes had faded. But more importantly, the third eye had disappeared, instead revealing a clear forehead and thick eyebrows above only two eyes. Eyelids adorned with short but thick eyelashes subdued the previously eerie wide-eyed stare, though there was a new oddity now: heterochromia. While his right eye was a shade of gold that could rival the sun, his left was a brilliant blue; probably a physical marker of his demonic powers. Soft pink lips now opened unto a straight, white set of teeth and a mouth free of blood. His hair had grown considerably thicker and was a deep gold highlighted with paler strands of blond while the horns had receded. His body still remained unclothed and his knees drawn up.

In short, Bill Cipher was breathtaking.

He was also extremely exhausted after being split between the mindscape and physical world.

"Pine Tree. Can we leave?" Emotion was injected into his tone, no longer a gravelly deadpan. Bill's voice was smoothed out more, though not completely, but deep and rich.

"Here."

Dipper turned quickly to find Stanley approaching the Circle with a plaid shirt - one of Dipper's - in his hand. The brunet was shocked at his presence, though Bill barely glanced at him. He had clearly seen the future earlier, after all. Stanley carefully stepped around the chalk marks and the now blown out candles to give Bill the shirt without entering the Circle. Without a word the demon slipped it on and fumbled with the buttons, shaking fingers not cooperating. He looked like he was about to pass out.

The brunet sighed and scooted forward. He didn't want to enter the enter the Triangle of Solomon but he could help Bill out a bit. The demon took Dipper's offered hand and let himself be pulled out of the triangle and Circle. He was too weary to stand so he sat on the ground next to one of the candles while Dipper knelt in front of him and buttoned up the shirt for him.

Even with the beautiful new body, Bill looked like hell. Dipper almost felt sympathy for him. Almost. This entity had threatened Mabel and he didn't want to forget that. He would help Bill out just until he was able to stand on his own and _then_ bring Bill to his knees under his command.

"How did you find us?" Dipper asked Stanley when he had finished buttoning up the shirt.

"I knew you would do this, slip off like this. I've done the same before. I was up waiting for it and lo and behold, you left just after sunrise. So I followed you shortly afterwards."

"How come you didn't help me then?" Dipper shot back, tired and irritated after the last few hours.

"This exhaustion is overwhelming," Bill whined, laying down.

"Shut up."

"If you wanted help you would have waited for Mabel and me to come with you. I couldn't risk you being mad while performing such a powerful spell or being interrupted, so I hung back and took notes. By the way, you should probably keep that pendant on so that your power over Bill Cipher remains," Stanley answered. The younger man brushed his fingers along the gold disc, having almost forgotten that he was wearing it.

"What made you think to bring a shirt?" Dipper asked after a pause.

"The hexagram you're wearing, it helps make him human. But it seemed sort of foolish to assume that he would just automatically be dressed as well. Why demons are depicted as being clothed naturally when called in human form is beyond me. I have pants too, but, can he even stand?"

They looked at the demon.

"Bill, you're a mess," Dipper commented.

"Yes, thank you, Pine Tree. This is your fault," he protested weakly, cutting short before he could really express his anger.

"I'm not helping him get dressed any further, no way. We'll just - uh... Here, help me sit him up." Dipper tugged Bill up into a sitting position and passed the dead weight onto Stanley. Taking his white jacket, he tied it around Bill's waist. "Close enough."

"We'd better get back. We didn't exactly tell Mabel we were leaving without her."

"Oh man, she's gonna be miffed," Dipper groaned. He rubbed his eyes. "So how are we going to get him home?"

"As Ford said, he's _you're_  responsibility," Stanley shrugged, laughing lightly. "I'll clean this up. You can go ahead, I'll follow with the supplies once everything here is put back to normal. Oh, take this." Stanley fetched the water bottle from where Dipper had left it next to his backpack and handed it to him.

The older Pines then went about closing the Circle, leaving Dipper to carry the demon home. He made Bill sit up and grab onto his shoulders when he knelt in front of him. Once he felt the other's hands on his skin, he hefted the blond onto his back, hoping that Bill didn't ease his grip on him. Dipper hooked the other's legs on his hipbones, holding his legs there and trying to ignore the smooth, bare skin under his fingertips. Actually he was trying to ignore a lot of things: the faint smell of pine needles mixed with metallic blood, Bill's soft breathing that ruffled his brunet hair, the heat that was now seeping through golden skin as the new body tried to warm up, a rapid heartbeat that marched on despite the rest of the body being relaxed, and his own light blush from sensing the demon's body in such a detail.

Oh yes, there was much to ignore and explain away with feeble excuses that he was just tired and demons were _supposed_ to come off as godlike.

He was lucky that Bill's new body was slightly smaller than his, but the trek home was still too long for his taste. Breaks to catch his breath were frequent, especially after the demon started falling asleep and losing his hold on Dipper. By the halfway mark back to the Shack, Stanley had caught up with them, though conversation was not a side effect of this.

When Stanley held up the front door for Dipper, the sun was falling westward quickly. Not knowing where else to place him that was out of the way, the brunet shook Bill off his back then helped him up to the attic. Without thinking the demon took up his sleep again in Dipper's bed.

Exhausted himself, Dipper sunk to the ground in front of his bed and dozed off, his head rested on the edge of his bed.

* * *

 

Her hair used to be brunette, but now silver dominated her much shorter locks. A backpack filled with neatly folded clothes and a newspaper clipping was slung on her back.

When the bus pulled to a stop in Gravity Falls, she departed from it. Finding a cheap diner, she sat down for breakfast. She paid and tipped the waitress then stopped her when she made towards the next table.

"Excuse me, where can I find the Mystery Shack?" Carla McCorkle asked.


	6. Command

Pacifica huffed and leaned back against the couch on the porch. "So Dipper and the old man just took off on you when you were supposed to go with them? How lame."

"I know right?" Mabel replied, trying to inject some humor into her voice but achieving a crestfallen sigh instead.

The sky darkened and the stars started to appear, marking the beginning of night. After finding her plans with Dipper and Stanley ruined when she woke up, she decided to call Pacifica over to cheer herself up a bit. The blonde knew about her twin's continuing into the world of the supernatural and had listened knowingly as Mabel described Dipper's first return to the mindscape and their conclusion to put Bill Cipher under their control in the physical world. Pacifica understood and agreed with all of that - even adding a triumphant "good!" in reference to them limiting Bill's freedom. But she decidedly did _not_  understand why the two men had to be such "pricks and go do things themselves as if they really could handle it."

"I mean, Stanley got himself sent away for _thirty years_  for thinking that he could handle things himself! What makes them think now would be any different? Aren't _you_  the one who pulls them out of trouble often? Honestly, they're such idiots," Pacifica ranted on, crossing her arms and frowning.

Mabel sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they were just trying to protect me or something."

"Hey, Mabel Pines can take care of herself." The increase in self-confidence after breaking free from her parent's control had greatly bettered Pacifica's attitude towards others, encouraging her to help her friends feel better about themselves too. Mabel rarely needed such help, but waking up to the feeling of abandonment had been most depressing. "Anyway, you probably aren't missing much, just some boring grimoire stuff. Sure, watching Dipper talk to himself while surrounded by candles is pretty funny, but seriously, it gets old fast."

* * *

 

"Qn yrwnm oxa qrv oaxv cqn orabc. Crvn vjh yjbb buxfuh kdc qjcn fruu wxc kn cqn nwm."

Bill Cipher woke up to the coded riddle stuck in his head. Without a body that could visibly communicate the knowledge that came to him, he had to settle on the verbal communication humans relied on. No one heard his garbled message, however, as Dipper still slept on the floor with his back propped up against the bed.

The demon shifted so that his legs were tucked beneath him and leaned over the bed, wrapping his arms under Dipper's armpits and lifting him up onto the bed easily. As the brunet was forced awake, Bill dropped him back against the pillows.

"Morning, Pine Tree!" Bill sang loudly, causing Dipper to wince.

"Bill, what the hell?!"

"You looked uncomfortable on the floor. I can see why you humans like beds so much." He kicked his legs back out from underneath him and leaned back on his elbow, his face directly above Dipper's.

"I... its not even morning!" He pointed to the window letting in dim moonlight. Dipper's mind scrambled to catch up and latched onto that observation briefly before moving on. "And you could barely stand a few hours ago. How..."

Bill snorted. "I just needed sometime to recover from all the nonsense you put me through earlier. It shouldn't take me long to get completely used to the physical world!"

Dipper nodded numbly. "So, what, this is you working at half capacity or something? Once you get used to everything you'll..."

"Be working at my usual one hundred and ten percent, yes! Keep up, Pine Tree. And anyway, its my turn to ask the questions. You summoned me here and I deserve to know why I should have to be called out of the mindscape when I specifically warned you against doing anything like that." The demon's brilliant eyes narrowed despite his voice remaining upbeat.

"I already told you: so you can't do anything to Mabel," Dipper replied, growing irritated.

"I get that, but what... No, never mind, you'll probably just have Glasses take care of everything for you. Again. That's fine, kid," Bill waved the subject off, obviously acting passive aggressive.

"Bill, what are you-"

"No, no, Pine Tree. We'll just skip to the next subject." He paused and drew in a breath slowly, committed to the act. "At least tell me this: how did you perform one of the most powerful spells in demonology available _alone_  and then carry me back here? You should've been exhausted by the end of that spell."

Dipper opened his mouth to say something but shut it again quickly. Had he really done all that? Yes, his aching body gave him a resounding yes. Even though it seemed as fantastical and impossible as Bill made it out to be.

"I... I really have no idea. Maybe because I've performed spells out of the Journal before? Practice makes perfect or something like that?" Dipper shrugged.

"With weaker spells, sure kid. But you did most of the work in creating a human body for me - albeit a faulty one at first."

"Wait, what, I thought demons had human forms to begin with. I mean, _Lesser_ _Key_  talks about the human form for some of the demons, it said you literally have the option on whether a demon appears as a human or not. Shouldn't you already have one then?" His words ran together.

"Well I'm not listed in _Lesser_ _Key_ , am I? I've never been called into the physical world before - not in human form, anyway. Those other demons in _Lesser_ _Key_  are always being called on; they might as well just stay in the physical world. But you're the first one to do this to me, Pine Tree. You wanted to see my human form and you made damn sure that'd happen," Bill smiled, amused.

"But," he continued, "I've never heard of a human being able to create a human form for a demon alone. And then to _live_  afterwards! In the past it always took several disciples helping a master to create a human form, and then they would be too exhausted to do much afterwards. So tell me, Pine Tree, how is that you just waltz in and create me a body then carry almost twice your weight back here? And more importantly, what else are you capable of?"

Bill lowered himself slightly so that he was closer to Dipper and slipped a hand behind the brunet's head, forcing him up so that they had to make eye contact. Dipper froze, meeting Bill's gold and blue eyes uneasily.

"I told you. I don't know," he breathed. He was telling the truth but with Bill so eager for an explanation and their close proximity, he was terrified that he had given the wrong answer.

After a moment the demon laughed and let Dipper go, sitting back up. "Of course you wouldn't know, Pine Tree. If you could even grasp how powerful the spell you performed was you wouldn't have tried it in the first place!"

Dipper grasped for some sort of protest but could think of none. He _had_  gone into the summoning ignorant of how much energy it would take. Though if he had known how difficult it really was, he might have hesitated...

"I'll figure it out; I always do!" Bill proclaimed.

The brunet sat up and pushed himself back against the bed post. He looked Bill over to find him clearly healthier and livelier than he was earlier. The energy he put into his singsong rants and laughter was effortless, his breathing so calm the rise and fall of his chest was almost imperceptible. Not to mention his show of strength a few minutes ago.

One of Dipper's plaid shirts still dripped off his smaller frame and covered his thighs halfway, though apparently he had discarded the white jacket. Wrinkling his nose, Dipper slipped off his bed to fetch a pair of boxers and jeans then threw them at the demon. He turned his back to the other.

"Get dressed, will you? Y'know, for a 'snappy-dresser' I'd think you would have been more self-conscious about..." he trailed off, finding the completion of the sentence unnecessary.

"Precisely, Pine Tree, I _am_  a snappy dresser. And your fashion sense is far from snappy!" Bill shot back at him. The ruffling of material reached Dipper's ears as the demon did as he was told.

After a moment the brunet faced Bill again. Now that the blond stood, Dipper could see that Bill was slightly shorter than him. It wasn't too much of a difference, but it was clear that Dipper's clothes didn't fit him exactly right. "We'll have to get you some new clothes, I guess. I don't want you wearing my stuff anyway, you do weird things."

"Pine Tree! I take offense!"

Bill was about to continue but was interrupted by the door to the attic opening. Balancing two plates in one hand, Stanley closed the door behind him. He purposefully handed Dipper a plate first before holding the other out to Bill.

"You do eat, right? You're breathing so I figured you eat," Stanley asked, eyebrow raised. Dipper glanced down to the plate to find a neatly made sandwich. He issued a quiet thank you and took a bite, only now realizing how hungry he was.

"Of course I eat!" Demonstrating his point, Bill picked up one half of the sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth whole. Chewing and swallowing thickly a few times, he continued, "Honestly, you and Pine Tree are so rude."

"Yeah, see, this is why I don't want you wearing my stuff. You do weird things," Dipper called out, gesturing to Bill as the demon shoved down the second half.

Stanley watched Bill blankly for a moment, finding the behavior odd though not necessarily _surprising_. Finally moving to stand closer to Dipper, he muttered, "We'll work on that later."

"Hey, how did you know we would be awake now?" Dipper asked, noticing Stanley's good timing.

"I may have been watching you two for a while..." he muttered, then changed the topic loudly.

"Anyway. We need to lay down some ground rules. We called you here so that you can't pose any threat to us - or to anyone else for that matter. I'm not entirely sure what all you can do now, but since you're under Dipper's command, you will report to him before doing anything _demonic_. Spells, shape-shifting, going into the mindscape and other people's minds and dreams, anything else involving magic: you get permission from Dipper to do it first. You will only do something beyond the simplest of tasks if Dipper tells you you can."

"What about my unlimited knowledge? I can't exactly turn off my seeing the possible futures," Bill deadpanned, tired with the conversation when it had only just begun.

"Fine, it doesn't pose much of a threat anyway. But don't try to manipulate Dipper with your 'most likely outcome' trick again. You only speak the truth from now on. And no more deals."

For the most part the demon had appeared bored, but now he stiffened and looked at Stanley with a mixture of anger and pain. His voice was raised considerably as he rejected the last part immediately. "No! C'mon, Glasses, I'll comply with the rest fully - no finding loopholes or anything - just let me..."

Realizing that he was pleading with the wrong person, Bill turned to Dipper after working the fury out of his expression. He knew well that the brunet would respond better to the tortured, begging look that could elicit sympathy and pity. "Take away my powers? Fine, Pine Tree. But I can't even make _deals_? How is that fair? When a person is offered a deal they don't have to take it! Or if they do, they could very well end up with the better part of the deal! Come on, Pine Tree, how about this: if you let me keep making deals I'll help you really harness that power you have. You've always been so powerful, kid, picking up on spells quickly. And you're only gaining more power. I'll teach you how to really use it. I'll even give you some of my own demonic powers and teach you how to use them. Anything you want! Just let me keep making deals."

Dipper straightened his posture, perking up at the chance being offered to him. Bill was obviously bargaining, and Dipper didn't completely agree with his view on deals being optional after his experience with the laptop, but what he was getting in exchange was difficult to refuse. He could learn more magic, gain more, but he still hesitated. Dipper looked to Stanley, expecting him to find some loophole and reject the compromise for him.

Only, Stanley actually agreed. Nodding thoughtfully, he leaned closer to Dipper and lowered his voice. "If you can really harness more power and learn how to control it, you could reverse whatever deal Bill Cipher tries to pull off. Take the offer."

Bill looked away, pretending that he couldn't hear Stanley's observation.

"Wait wait wait, that's a terrible bargain," Dipper finally said after a moment. "I know we mostly focused on the information on summoning, but _Lesser_ _Key_  said that summoned demons grant supernatural powers anyway. Why should I have to bargain for something I could get from you already?"

Bill made a sound of frustration and impatience. "Humans could do most of the stuff they ask for on their own if they found the right spell, they just choose to summon demons instead because it makes them feel more powerful. Think about it, kid, they get the bragging rights of having controlled a demon."

"But the demons aren't really doing anything?" Dipper's expression was one of disbelief.

"Nope! Well, they give humans certain spells like invisibility, but its not like they're imparting power to them or anything. The only reason they even bother to come is because _most_  humans provide an elaborate animal sacrifice. You didn't. But demons see that as a sign of respect and can gain more power through it so they come for the sacrifice. Its a fair compromise."

"Did... did I disrespect you or something?"

"No, kid, you messed everything up. You almost killed me. That's more than disrespect."

"I'm not apologizing." Dipper forced the confusion from his expression. "So, if we let you keep making deals, you'll _actually_  give me demonic powers and teach me how to use them? No just teaching me stuff I could already do and saying its a new power, right?"

"Yes, Pine Tree. New powers, new knowledge on how to control it all, the whole nine yards. So are we good or what?"

Dipper thought it over for a long moment, trying to think if there was anything else.

"Oh. One other thing. You stay away from Mabel. You don't come close to her. And you're staying within my sight. I brought you here so that you can't threaten us in the mindscape so there's no way I'm going to let you try anything here."

"Fine. I'm guessing you agree with everything Stanley said earlier?"

"Yes, every word." Dipper absently reached up to touch the gold disc he now wore. "And I summoned you, you have to obey."

"I know, kid, everything you say goes." Since Stanley entered, Bill sounded either tired or exasperated every time he spoke. But with this sentence his voice softened considerably, quieting in volume and tone laced with something akin to assurance.

"Well, I'm satisfied," Stanley stood up and collected the two empty plates. He shot Dipper a concerned look. "By the way, Dipper, you better talk to Mabel soon. She's pretty hurt that you left without her."

"Wait," Bill called when the older Pines headed towards the attic door. "That's it? I thought you would be a bit more... _persistent_ , interrogate me and demand the impossible of me and all that."

Stanley shrugged. "Not much you can do now, and Dipper seems to have you under control."

He left the room, leaving Dipper and Bill to look after him inquisitively. Bill was right: Stanley should have been more paranoid about the demon, but instead he was satisfied after a few commands. Smug even. His hinted trust towards Bill reminded Dipper of something the other had said previously.

" _YOU GOT GLASSES INVOLVED AND HE'S LEADING YOU DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH_."

Maybe Bill really was warning Dipper that Stanley's support in performing the summoning spell was misleading? No, the demon had a way of manipulating people and this certain seed had just stuck with Dipper. It was wrong, a trick that failed considering Bill was here physically now. Stanley's odd behavior had to have been encouraged by something else.

"I won't disobey your commands, Pine Tree. You're letting me keep making deals when you didn't have to. I won't use my power or leave your sight," Bill stated, his voice resolute. Dipper looked at him.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you have much of a choice anyway. You're under my control," he pointed out, then continued in a tone masking anger. "Just, tell me. Nothing terrible has happened. You gained a human form and you have to answer to me now. That's it. So is that why you warned me against reading _Lesser Key_? You didn't want to be bound so you threatened Mabel?"

"Whoa, Pine Tree, you're making this out as if the only downsides reside with me. I don't mind being human; its actually pretty fun! And I can cope without powers - for the most part. My warnings weren't about me, kid, I was just trying to keep you and Shooting Star safe!"

"Well I don't see either of us suffering," Dipper snapped.

"You two would have, but the timeline changed. Shooting Star changed it, actually. Its funny how quick you were to dismiss _Key of Solomon_  just because the first few pages deal with topics other than demons. For a while there the dominant timeline was of you combining the information in _Lesser Key_  with Stanley's simple summoning spell. Can't combine spells like that, kid, it ended up with too much power being pulled from Solomon's symbols and nowhere to direct it. I know you're not big on your own safety so I thought if I threatened you with Shooting Star's death you'd actually stop and listen," he explained complacently. "It worked, didn't it?"

"Well, yeah. But that's not the point. Why didn't you just tell me to pick up _The Key of Solomon_? Some actual friendly advice would have worked just as well."

"It was more fun this way," Bill answered simply.

Dipper sighed. It was difficult to remain angry about something like this when Bill threw out such a brutally honest answer. What was he expecting from a demon? "So why did you make a deal with Stanley before? Why not warn him against the book and then leave him alone?"

"I like Glasses, I wanted him around without being ordered around - he and Fez can be a bit bossy. And he was pretty useful with all his smarts." He paused, frowning. "Its too bad he broke the deal and our trust in the end."

"So... you actually did all that warning stuff in part for Mabel and me?" The words felt odd in his mouth.

"Well, yes, Pine Tree. Giving you a hard time is fun but I can't have you or Shooting Star getting seriously hurt." His voice had lost its softness a bit, shifting to a more matter-of-fact tone.

Dipper grimaced. "Uh huh. I should probably go talk to Mabel." The brunet made his way towards the door but paused when he heard footsteps behind him. "You don't have to come, you know. In fact I kinda wish you would wait here, away from Mabel."

"Part of the command was that I stay within eyesight, Pine Tree," Bill chirped, eliciting a groan from Dipper. Why didn't he think that particular part through better?

Dipper yanked the attic door open and headed for the stairs. While he searched for his twin he thought over how he was supposed to explain to her why he went alone, his mind bringing up some bitter points on how it was better that way anyway. Bill's deformed figure and the bird sacrifice came to mind as two examples.

Oh god, the bird sacrifice.

He stopped in his tracks just outside the door to the Mystery Shack and shuddered.

"What's the matter?" Bill asked, leaning closer at his side.

"I just remembered. The whole bird thing. I did that and never washed my hands. Why didn't I think of that before eating?" he moaned, voice lowered.

The demon snorted, annoyingly amused by the other's disgusting revelation. "That's it? Don't worry, Pine Tree, I'll keep those scary human diseases away from you. Now come on, I don't feel like following you around while you look for Shooting Star."

He slid his hand into Dipper's and tugged him back towards the front door, ignoring the other's protests for him to let go. When he opened the front door he let Dipper go first and motioned towards the left to signal Mabel's location then hung back.

The brunet automatically thanked Bill and prepared himself for Mabel's scolding.

"Dipper! You couldn't even say hi to me when-" Mabel started, pushing up off from the porch couch. Next to her Pacifica looked over, growing tense just in case she had to support the brunette.

But Mabel stopped short when Bill came to stand to the side behind Dipper. He gave her a wide grin but came no closer.

"Oh my god, is that _Bill_?"

Mabel rushed forward to examine the new form of the demon but halted instinctively as he snapped his fingers, blue flames leaping from his fingertips to block her path a few feet ahead. No heat emanated from the fire; it was solely intended to be a warning for her to keep back. "Sorry Shooting Star, but Pine Tree doesn't want me near you. Something about wanting me all to himself, if I remember correctly."

"Bill!" Dipper scolded. "I don't like you. In any way whatsoever."

"Oh come on, Pine Tree, its obvious. You  _were_ the one who spent a great deal of power calling me here," the demon drawled.

Bill dimmed the flames until they died out completely, trusting Mabel to stay away. Protest rose in Dipper but there was no logic for him to stand on: he  _had_ summoned Bill, asserted himself as his watcher, and technically he did have permission to use his demonic powers just now in order to fulfill the other part of the command.

"Just, stand there," Dipper ordered, exasperated. He waved Mabel back to the couch and leaned against one of the porch's posts to tell her and Pacifica about the summoning, answer every question they had. Despite his efforts to keep the more gruesome parts brief, he still had Pacifica demanding more information and Bill requesting that he elaborate on some parts smugly. Mabel stayed quiet for the most part until Dipper got to the bird scene, when she held up her hands.

"Okay, okay, I don't need to hear that," she said softly, covering her ears. She really always had had a soft spot for animals. "You made your point, I'm so glad I wasn't there to see that."

Dipper sighed and gave her a hug, completely understanding her horrified reaction. "So are we good then? No hard feelings about my leaving?"

"Yeah bro, we're good," she gave him a small smile.

During the twins' conversation, Bill edged carefully around the couch and knelt beside Pacifica, who had not been as disgusted by the summoning process. "Hey, Llama, wanna hear about the sacrifice?"

"Bill!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was longer than expected so the next may be a bit shorter - and a lot lighter.  
> Also if I'm going too slow or not explaining things enough, please tell me. I feel like these chapters are dragging on a bit but I'm not sure?


	7. Blue

Pacifica and Mabel had a sleepover in the living room, watching cheap horror movies before falling asleep, while Dipper turned in early. Usually he was a night owl, reading and writing late into the night, but his body still ached and he was exhausted after that morning. Adhering to the terms of the commands given, Bill trailed him back to the attic despite not needing sleep quite yet.

Though he told Bill to keep his eyes averted, Dipper still had to deal with the demon shadowing him as he went about getting ready for bed. He waited outside the bathroom as the brunet brushed his teeth, and sat on Dipper's bed facing the wall while the other changed into a plain shirt and sweatpants. As he waited he glassed through the other's possessions left on the bed and desk. He finally picked up Dipper's iPod and held it up.

"What is this? I've seen people use these before." He started pressing buttons but was abruptly stopped by Dipper pulling the device out of his hands.

"Here." Dipper grabbed his ear buds and shoved them into Bill's ears then hit play. He watched in amusement as Bill's gold and blue eyes grew wide and a smile touched his lips. He looked up to Dipper and pointed at his ears, obviously excited. Deciding a happy Bill was preferred, he showed the blond how to work the buttons and let him keep the iPod for the rest of the night.

Dipper then shooed him off the bed and sat down, relieved to find that he intended to read through the night - it saved the brunet from having to find him a sleeping arrangement. Bill ended up on the floor in front of Dipper's bed, his knees up and _The Key of Solomon_  and _The Lesser Key of Solomon_ open in his lap. Dipper gave him a flashlight so that the demon could read without waking him up, though that didn't save him from being woken occasionally by Bill finding delight in one song or other.

It was some vague plan that Mabel and Bill had made the night before that caused the demon to stand at the attic door calling out "Shooting Star" loudly early in the morning. Dipper had noticed them throwing paper airplanes back and forth the night before but he was too exhausted to question it beyond making sure Bill didn't get close to Mabel. He knew whatever they were talking about made Mabel happy so he had allowed it then, but as he buried his head into his pillow he began to regret it.

Bill dragged him out of bed while Mabel lingered on the other side of the room, both trying to ignore Dipper's complaints until Mabel finally let him get a Monster energy drink so that he would quiet down. She then employed her twin to wake up Pacifica, who according to Mabel was even worse in the morning.

Mabel was right. She was so very right.

Dipper waited off to the side. Pacifica hesitantly looked through some of the racks. Mabel was constantly flinging more clothes into the 'maybe' pile. Bill was right when he said he found being human fun considering his wide grin every time he tried on an outfit. In short, getting Bill a new wardrobe from a thrift store in town was a new experience.

"How are we supposed to afford this?" Dipper groaned, looking at the growing pile Mabel and Bill were making of clothes. "I mean, its cheaper, but stuff adds up, y'know?"

"Nope." Talking to Pacifica about money problems was not his wisest choice. "I'll make you a deal, though. If he can actually pull off this... I wanna call it trash but I'm trying to be nicer. If he can pull it off, I'll pay."

"You're on," Dipper agreed instantly. They watched as Bill dug up a pastel sweater and pulled it over a white button-up shirt, adding a matching bow tie afterwards. "Actually, I won. You're paying."

He looked over to Bill and called to him, "Hey, whatever you want here, you can get it. Pacifica's paying."

"I regret this." Pacifica pulled out her credit card - linked to her parent's bank account, of course - and paid for the skinny jeans, button-up shirts, vests, sweaters, and pile of bow ties that Bill had picked out.

While they waited for everything to be rung up and bagged, a couple of girls approached Bill and asked him whether he was wearing contacts to achieve his heterochromia. To this he responded, "Contacts, what humans wear in their eyes? No, of course not, this is natural. How did you get your hair that color?"

Dipper gulped and pushed him away as Mabel hurriedly explained to the girls that he was quite the joker. They shrugged and walked away to the twins' relief. The brunet turned to Bill, heart still racing from the potential mishap.

"Bill! You can't just go around saying things like that!"

"Hang on, Pine Tree. Why did you have to chase them off? One of them had brightly colored hair - an unnatural color for humans. I've seen it a lot recently and I want to know how humans are getting their hair like that now." Bill leaned to the side, staring at one of the girls - who sported bright pink hair - as they walked away.

"Hair dye. They just put some coloring in their hair," Dipper explained wearily.

"Hair dye? Can we get hair dye too? I won't call people 'humans' anymore if you get me hair dye," the demon turned his full attention to Dipper now.

"Fine. We'll stop by the store and get you some. Just, don't embarrass us anymore."

Knowing that Bill was unnaturally strong, Dipper made him carry his clothes back to the car. They stopped by the store briefly on the way back, the blond excitedly leading Dipper by the hand into the store while Mabel and Pacifica waited in the car.

With a grin Bill immediately picked out a box of light blue dye when they got to the hair products aisle and explained, "Its the same shade as my fire - I can have a blue glow just like in my demon form again."

"So that's why you wanted to dye your hair," Dipper muttered. He ushered Bill back to the car and slipped into the driver's seat, telling the other to be quiet when he suggested that he floor it back to the shack. The sigil really must have still been working as Bill shut his mouth after that.

When the car stopped Bill shot out of the backseat and proceeded to tug Dipper out of the car, bag with the hair dye in it slung on his elbow. At the first step to the porch Dipper tripped and landed on his knees, earning a "Hurry up, Pine Tree!" from Bill. Mabel couldn't help but laugh at that as she and Pacifica followed them to one of the shack's bathrooms.

"Okay, so we'll read the instructions but you should probably put on an old shirt, Bill," Mabel instructed while Pacifica grabbed the box from him and tore it open. "We may have to bleach your hair..."

"No time for that," Bill said simply, yanking the box back and quickly scanning the instructions. "We'll skip most of this."

Not bothering with the gloves - or much else, really - he opened the bottle of dye and poured it over his head, ruffling his hair as he did so. Blue liquid dripped from his hair and down his face, leaving bright splatters of color all over his shirt and, even worse, the bathroom floor. He looked at the others with a grin.

"We just have to wait for this to dry then, right?"

"Bill," Dipper groaned, rubbing his eyes. He pushed the demon back towards the shower and grabbed a sponge to try and lift the dye before it could permanently stain the ground - with not much luck. He sighed at the faded blue stains on the floor and wrung out the sponge before turning to Bill. "Couldn't you wait?!"

Pacifica stepped closer to Bill and examined his dye job before commenting, "Its horribly patchy, we're going to have to redo it if it'll ever look right. Mabel and I will go get more dye. In the meantime, Bill, you should try and wash out as much as you can. And _please_ , don't do that again."

She turned to leave the bathroom but paused when Dipper protested, "No, Pacifica, you don't have to help out anymore than you already have."

"I just forked out money on clothes for a demon, I at least want him to look good while he wears them," she scoffed. Mabel trailed on her heels as she exited the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

Dipper heaved another sigh. He got a towel, turned on the shower faucet, then pointed at the tub. Assuming that the demon was lacking knowledge on a lot of daily tasks for humans, he briefly told Bill about the concept of showers then made towards the door. "Call me when you're finished. I'll dig up some old clothes so you don't stain anything more - that _was_  my shirt you just ruined, you know."

"Fine, fine," Bill waved him off, already unbuttoning the shirt when Dipper closed the door.

The brunet gathered an old shirt and jeans that he no longer wore and waited outside the bathroom door. When Bill chirped that he had finished and opened the door, Dipper quickly set the clothes on the counter and turned the shower faucet off. His eyes averted, he rushed past the blond on his way out only to have Bill latch a hand onto his forearm. Dipper looked back at him sheepishly, too aware of Bill's golden skin for his comfort. This really was not how he expected this day to go.

"Pine Tree, you need to stop leaving the room," the demon began, monotone. He made a show of sucking in his cheeks and spitting out a mouthful of the dark blood he had been plagued with the day before into the sink. Dipper felt himself grow a bit paler, staring at Bill in horror and concern. "Its that _stay within my eyesight_  clause of your command. This stuff keeps coming back up whenever you leave me alone and I'm sick of swallowing it. Tastes disgusting."

"Okay, okay, I'll stay here," Dipper rushed, closing the bathroom door.

He kept facing the door as Bill grabbed the old clothes and got dressed. When he had finished the brunet opened the door again for when Mabel and Pacifica returned, then showed Bill how to brush his teeth to get rid of the taste of blood. Upon closer examination, Bill had done a good job following instructions; there was still quite a bit of blue dye left but only the coloring that had set remained and his skin was no longer stained blue.

"So," Dipper started hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he should be asking this question but curiosity was getting the better of him. "Is all of your blood... like that? Is it all black like that?"

"No. Its like yours. Here." Bill held out an arm, palm up, and gestured to the light blue veins tracing the skin along his wrist. "When its inside, its blue. If I bleed it will be red. It only turns black and starts coming up if I disobey your commands."

"What happens if you keep disobeying?" He almost didn't want to know.

"This body will keep decaying from the inside out. After a while it'll look sorta like my first physical body - I'll essentially get stuck between here and the mindscape again until either I start obeying or you release me from your command." Dipper noticed Bill shudder slightly, which was completely understandable in his opinion.

"That looks much better," Pacifica commented as she entered the bathroom. She held up another box of blue hair dye, making Bill perk up considerably. "Wait for me this time; your hair will look awesome when I'm through with it."

Mabel and Dipper hung back as Pacifica had Bill sit down on the toilet cover and kept the box away from him. Following the instructions perfectly, she laced the coloring through Bill's bangs and the tufts of hair around his ears so that the blue was outlining his natural blond. Considering his eyes were blue and gold, she had figured that to be his color scheme and opted to present it in his hair instead of saturating it in blue completely.

"It'll look better when its dry but yeah, I'm finished," Pacifica declared, stepping back.

Bill grinned and stood up to say something quietly to the blonde. An amused laugh escaped her.

"Yeah, alright, come here Dipper."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard Llama," Bill said, pulling Dipper forward by the forearm and forcing him to sit down. He stepped aside but kept a hand on the brunet to keep him seated as Pacifica started working the rest of the hair dye into Dipper's bangs. After several moments she put the bottle of dye down, signalling the demon to let him go.

Dipper immediately shot up and peered at himself in the mirror, grimacing at the dye in his hair that ran in an identical pattern to Bill's. Pacifica and Bill shared a smug look while Mabel squealed over the new hairdo from the threshold of the room.

"Look, Pine Tree, I got my fire back and I let you match me!"

"Guess its too late to protest," he groaned. "What now?"

"You'll have to wait a few minutes then wash it out," Pacifica shrugged, leaning against the wall in front of Dipper.

"Hey, you should spend the night again, Pacifica. We can watch horror movies again," Mabel suggested cheerily. "And this time Dipper and Bill can watch with us."

The blonde agreed automatically. Dipper found the idea favorable himself - though he wasn't overly pleased by Bill's inclusion. Especially since Mabel and Bill held secret conversations by notes whenever they had the chance. Dipper's original intentions were to keep the demon _away_  from his twin; how had he messed up so _badly_?

He really needed to start thinking things through before doing them.

When the waiting time was up he shooed Mabel and Pacifica back towards the living room - he didn't want them knowing Bill had to stay with him quite yet. He made Bill face the bathroom door for the entirety of his shower, though he changed behind the curtain. Stepping out after a few moments, he gestured for the demon to take his shower.

"Mabel!" Dipper yelped when he opened up the bathroom door. Behind him Bill tugged the old shirt down over his waist and checked out his hair in the mirror.

"I was just gonna tell you that you should wear your pajamas for the sleepover," Mabel trailed off quietly before giving her twin an inquisitive look. "Any reason you _both_  stayed in the bathroom?"

Dipper groaned. He really did not want this conversation. "Its just part of the summoning process. He has to stay with the person who summoned him."

"Oh. Well, alright," Mabel smiled before leaving. "Don't forget your pajamas!"

Bill mulled over what she had said for a moment before snatching up Dipper's hand and dragging him up to the attic. Passing by his new bags of clothing, he opened the closet and started rummaging through the brunet's wardrobe. He pulled off the old shirt and slipped on one of Dipper's plaid shirts, then kicked off his jeans. In just boxers and a plaid shirt that was a bit too big on him, he turned to Dipper and smiled brightly.

"There, I'm ready for the sleepover."

"You have your own clothes, you know," Dipper pointed out.

"Yeah, but... I saw this in a movie once, something Fez was watching. It was called a _romcom_ , whatever that is! The point was that for sleeping you always wear your boyfriend's clothes," Bill explained.

Dipper stood silent for a moment, trying to catch up. _Why was his Grunkle Stan watching romantic comedies?_  He probably didn't want to know. After a minute of this train of thought he shook his head and held his hands up.

"Wait, Bill, no, we're not boyfriends. I'm not you're boyfriend. We don't- what even gave you that impression?" Dipper stammered.

The blond looked at him as though the answer was obvious, refusing to acknowledge the question beyond that.

"Bill, you're almost all-knowing, you're going to have to fill me in sometimes."

"You just answered your own question, Pine Tree. I've already seen it, and you will too," Bill teased. "Now, hurry up, I want to watch Shooting Star's movie."

The demon shoved Dipper's sweatpants into his hands and turned around without being told to. Before they left the attic Dipper turned to Bill. "I don't care what you've seen, Bill, I don't like you. At all. You're only here so that I can keep an eye on you. Stop hinting that we're together."

"Fine, Pine Tree."

They found Pacifica and Mabel on the couch, impatient to start the movie. Bill and Dipper sat in front of the couch, the blond playing with his drying blue hair absently. It was dark outside when Bill yawned quietly, starting to feel the effects of having no sleep recently. As Mabel started a new movie, Bill shifted closer to Dipper and rested his head against the brunet's shoulder, ignoring the other's growing tense. After a few minutes Dipper observed that Bill had fallen asleep and relaxed a bit.

He probably just didn't want to use the couch as a pillow and Dipper was available. That was all.

Halfway through the movie Dipper felt his eyelids grow heavy and, without thinking, rested his head against Bill's, falling asleep.

 _Damn it_.

* * *

 It had taken a day for her to prepare herself. The past was in the past; did she really want to dig it back up?

She picked up the newspaper clipping about the Mystery Shack again, lingering on the bullet point: "Owner: Stan Pines." The black and white photo of the building with its owner above it confirmed her suspicions. She really had found her previous love interest.

Carla had to do this. She needed to know. Locking her motel room behind her, she caught a bus to the tourist trap and approached a teenager Stanford had hired to replace Wendy at the cash register some time ago. Not seeing the person she was seeking and not knowing what else to do, she paid to take a tour around the surrounding woods.

"Hm, not much of a crowd today," Stanley commented, joining the kid at the counter.

"Well, it is a weekday."

"Alright, those coming on today's Mystery Tour follow me into the unknown," he called.

Carla was baffled by Stanley's young appearance but accompanied the small group anyway. She still remembered how to tell the twins apart, and she knew Stanley would show her to Stanford when the tour was finished, so she waited.

When the tourists were led back to the gift shop, she took a deep breath and advanced towards Stanley, who stood off to the side watching people avidly buy souvenirs in disinterest.

"Stanley?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm thinking Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Sit It Off for the song Bill first reacted to.  
> Thank you to those who gave me feedback on the last chapter! Getting feedback is just such a big motivator, really.  
> 


	8. Flower

He was doing his best to ignore the whole thing. He was doing a good job of it, too, considering he hadn't even seen Bill Cipher yet. But he was still very aware that eventually he would have to meet the demon.

It was the hired teenager's day to work the register so Stanford preoccupied himself with other things. New tourist attractions and cheap yet overpriced souvenirs, the usual. He sat at his desk, absently drawing more Stan Bucks, willing himself to not hear the chatter of his niece and nephew, Pacifica Northwest, and the now slightly less annoying voice of Cipher as they got ready to leave - for a day of shopping as he unwillingly heard.

And _where_  did they get money for a new wardrobe? Why couldn't Dipper give him some old, worn clothes and call it a day? Even that would be too good for Cipher as far as he was concerned.

No. He was going to avoid this topic completely. Stanley was keeping a close eye on the situation, the demon didn't deserve any more attention than that. In fact, Stanley was providing Cipher with too much attention, always watching him and Dipper. It was only a day in and yet Stanford had already caught his twin spying on them several times.

Stanley had followed Dipper into the woods to see the summoning. Then proceeded to watch him and Bill when they had first gotten back and fallen asleep. Sat in the kitchen listening when they joined Mabel and Pacifica briefly to watch a movie that night. Slipped up to the attic throughout the night to check on them - did he even sleep? Joined them for a few minutes at breakfast. He wanted to go out with them too but Stanford made him stay behind to lead the tours.

Making sure Dipper wasn't harmed by the summoning process or Cipher was one thing, but Stanford found the rest unnecessary. Dipper was older now, more aware, he could handle things. And besides, Cipher was under Dipper's control so it would be difficult for him to do much harm.

Stanford sighed and turned his attention back to the muffled sounds of customers wandering through the shack. The sound of money being made at least provided a temporary distraction from his twin's obsession.

The shop quieted a bit - a tour was probably being led - before having another outburst of voices from interested customers. Stanford switched to making a new tourist attraction when the door to his office opened, a slightly on-edge Stanley holding the knob.

"Uh, Ford?"

Stanford frowned and stood up, assuming that there was a customer complaint or some other inconvenience. But as he walked towards the door, Stanley stepped aside and ushered in a familiar woman. He stopped in his tracks, jaw clenched and adrenaline shooting through his veins in shock when the realization of who it was hit him.

"Carla? Carla McCorkle?"

Stanley quietly backed out of the office and closed the door, not wishing to intrude.

She stepped closer to Stanford and looked up at him, giving him a small smile. "I can't say you haven't aged a day, but I see you haven't lost your good looks."

He laughed at this. "Thanks, Carla. You, on the other hand, you haven't aged a bit. Still as pretty as a flower. Where _is_ your flower?"

"Oh, uh," Carla automatically tugged at the grey locks where she always used to wear a flower. "I'm older now, I stopped wearing it sometime ago."

"Huh. Still odd to see you without it, though. Anyway, uh, what brings you here?"

"C'mon, Stan, you know I'm here to see you. I mean, I know its been a few years, but... I needed to see you again. And Stanley, he's back!" She peered back towards the door only to find him absent.

"Yeah. It took me thirty years, but I got him back. I thought of telling you, but, well what was I supposed to say? _I'm sorry for having pushed you away again but my twin brother is back so, third time's the charm_?" Stanford scoffed.

She frowned. "You have a point. Will you be ending up as the bad guy again this time or is it safe for me to ask you out for dinner?"

"Ha, alright I deserve that. I'd say its safe."

"Good. Come on then."

Carla motioned for him to follow her and asked if he would mind driving. Stanford left the Mystery Shack under his twin's watch, silently grateful that the others weren't back yet - avoiding Cipher remained his top priority. On the way to the diner he filled Carla in about how Stanley had returned.

"Its almost startling to hear all this supernatural stuff again. Especially from you. It was always Stanley..." Carla trailed off when he had finished.

"He's still into it, still going around writing more journals. And Dipper, I swear he's even worse." Stanford parked in front of the restaurant and held the car door open for Carla. On their way to the front door he spotted a white wildflower and picked it, string it into her bangs with a smile. "That's the Carla I know."

She laughed at this and hooked her arm around his. After they had ordered she asked, "So, I know you said Stanley was stuck... somewhere else, but how did he stay so _young_?"

Stanford took off his fez and set it aside, buying time before answering. "I'm not entirely sure. He won't talk to me about it. Perhaps he told Dipper, but not me."

"They're close, right, Dipper and Stanley? I mean, I always heard how much he was into the supernatural."

"Oh yeah, the kid is even worse actually. Do you always hear about him and Mabel?"

"Well, mostly when they were younger, you know how that goes. They're out of the house so their parents don't have as much to say. I guess now I should call you for updates, right?" Carla laughed.

"Why call? You can meet them; I've told Dipper about one _Carla McCorkle_  before."

"You don't think they'd figure out we're their..."

"No. Well... no, they have more to think about than my meeting up with an old love interest."

"More to think about? You're not making them work constantly, are you?" She frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Considering that tourist trap you own now I wouldn't be surprised."

"Ah come on, I'm not that bad! In fact, I was referring to the supernatural stuff Dipper has gotten himself into this time. You're never gonna believe it, Carla. He summoned a demon to come live with us." His tone was teasing but after a slight pause it hardened a bit. "A goddamn demon. Most kids bring home stray pets, and he brought home a _demon_."

"Wait, are you talking about the cipher demon? The, uh, you know," she formed a triangle with her fingers over her eye. "You have a triangle living with you now?"

"Yeah, its him. He's such a pest, Carla, we can't seem to shake him. Only this time he's in human form so we're actually stuck with him." Stanford struggled to keep his voice down as he proceeded to summarize Dipper's trips to the mindscape and what Stanley had told him of the summoning spell - minus a few _choice_  parts - for her. He concluded, "And now Lee won't leave them alone, always watching Cipher. I gotta wonder what he's expecting."

"Well, Cipher did play a huge part in him being sent away in the first place," Carla pointed out, voice sympathetic.

"Exactly! So he should want to stay away from the menace. Every summer he's always been so adamant about warning Dipper away from Cipher. And then as soon as that pest returns he's telling the kid to go ahead and summon him."

"At least let me finish, Stan," she gave him a scolding look. "Cipher was also a huge part of his life before then. He trusted Cipher - just like Dipper seems to be doing now - and was led down a pretty dark path because of it. You remember how he got about those Journals. He knows what to look for better than we do, he's probably just trying to catch the signs before anything more can happen."

"Yeah, well, I still don't like it. I don't like any of this," Stanford grumbled.

"Then you're lucky Lee is on the case, aren't you?"

"How do you always know how to counteract my arguments?" he huffed. "Anyway, what's been going on with you these past few years?"

Carla recounted the past few decades for him. After Dipper and Mabel's father - their son - had grown up and moved out she left to see Glass Shard Beach and her family there again. She had insisted on updates when the twins were born and was not surprised when she heard that they were being sent to visit their Grunkle Stan over the summers.

It was relief that their father had never questioned her fixing Stanford's position as his uncle, but then, why would he? An interest in the supernatural and everything that it entailed had passed over the twins' father.

For the past few years Carla had considered asking her son for Stan's contact information again but kept delaying it. That was, until a few months ago when a relative of hers handed a newspaper clipping they had found while looking for a good travel destination. She had mentioned dating a "Stan Pines" in the past to her family and apparently the relative had remembered that. Deciding it was a good enough sign to follow her wish of seeing Stan again, she started planning a trip to Gravity Falls shortly thereafter.

"Huh, well I'm glad you got that newspaper clipping," he smiled fondly. "I'd ask you to come back to the shack, see Stanley and the kids, but with Cipher there... Maybe we can meet for breakfast tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we can do that."

When he returned to the shack that night after dropping Carla off at the motel she was staying at, Stanford stopped briefly in the living room. It was nice seeing Mabel have Pacifica as such a close friend now, but the blond leaning against Dipper tainted the scene for him. A day in and Cipher was getting too close to his nephew.

_Damn it._

* * *

 

It wasn't until he was sure that Dipper and Bill Cipher were asleep in the living room that he dared try it. Stanley quietly made his way upstairs and through the attic door.

Grimoires and other books were spread out on Dipper's bed and the floor and the demon still had not hung up his new clothes, making for a rather messy room. In front of the bed _The Key of Solomon_  and _The Lesser Key of Solomon_  were still open to the pages Bill had stopped at, a flashlight rested next to one of them. The only thing that had been picked up from the night before was Dipper's iPod - Bill had grown rather attached to it and kept it in his pocket during the day out shopping.

Stepping carefully around the books, Stanley knelt down to the two he had seen Bill read the night before through the slightly ajar door. The demon had been notorious in the past for leaving notes wherever he went and adding footnotes to books, leading him to look for any sign of these now.

He flipped through the pages of the books quickly - only to find nothing. Quietly humming to himself, he began rummaging through the drawers of Dipper's desk. But there was nothing different. He checked the untouched bags of thrift store clothes, and the pockets of the plaid shirts hanging in the closet.

Nothing.

Stanley shook his head, growing fairly uncertain with himself. Maybe Bill just hadn't started leaving notes yet. Or he stopped doing it since last time Stanley had caught on and used them to prevent his plans.

Or he just hadn't found them yet.

Dropping to his knees, he picked up the flashlight and made the light cut through the darkness under Dipper's bed. Smirking to himself, Stanley pulled out a couple of tissues that had been shoved under the bed, careful to only touch the clean edges. That smug look faded, however, as he noticed dark liquid seeping through the white. After a moment he recognized what it was: the blood Bill Cipher had been spitting out during the summoning.

Stanley grimaced, pushing the tissues back under the bed so that Bill wouldn't notice he had been in there. It just didn't make sense to him. The demon was in a completed form, there shouldn't be anything wrong. And nothing like this had happened when Stanley had summoned him years ago.

Although, the two experiences _were_ vastly different.

Making sure he had put everything back to how how found it, Stanley slipped out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah we're going that route with Starla, I adore the grunkle4grandpa theory too much.  
> Note on frequency of updates: I've decided to start another BillDip fic (it'll be titled "In the Lamplight" if you want to look out for it) alongside this one so I might not update as quickly from now on, but I doubt it'll seriously delay updates for Sigil.


	9. Wendy

When morning came Dipper awoke with a start, very aware of the gold and blue haired demon leaning against him. Back propped up against the couch, his head still rested against Bill's, though now in a different position. At some point in the night the blond had scooted over to sit in his lap and laid his side against Dipper's chest, head tucked under the brunet's chin. Staying still for a second, he noticed Bill's soft breathing announcing that he was still asleep.

The television was on, looping the start-up screen and eerie music for some horror movie, though he could see Mabel and Pacifica obviously passed out in his peripheral vision when he turned his head slightly. He didn't want to risk waking them up, but Dipper couldn't let Bill get so close to him like this.

Clamping a hand down on the demon's mouth to keep him silent, Dipper forced him off of his lap. Gesturing for Bill to keep quiet, he glared at the other as he grabbed his upper arm roughly and yanked him to his feet. He saw Bill's expression clearly - one of surprise and offense - but chose to ignore it as he dragged the demon towards the attic.

A door down the hall opened, causing Dipper to freeze and look over to see which Stan was actually getting up this early. Not moving from his spot, Dipper lowered his voice into a hiss.

"Grunkle Stan?"

"Quiet, kid, Lee finally went to bed, I can't have you waking him up," Stanford replied wearily, voice lowered as well.

"Where are you going?" Dipper glossed over the comment; in previous summers he had come to witness Stanley's apparent insomnia, staying up later than even Dipper in his research of the supernatural, so his Grunkle Stan's remark came as no surprise.

"To meet a friend."

The brunet's expression distorted into one of disbelief. "You don't have friends."

Stanford frowned at him. "Yeah, thanks kid. I'm going to meet with Carla McCorkle."

Recognizing the name, Dipper perked up a bit. His grip on Bill loosened slightly and his voice came out louder than it should have. "Seriously? You've found her again? Can we meet her?"

"You can meet _her_  when you get rid of... _that_." Stan pointed at Bill.

The demon gave him a wide grin in response. "I'm glad to hear that _she_  won't be coming back again. You scared me there for a minute, Fez."

Stanford sighed and shook his head, taking his leave. "See ya later, Dipper."

The sky was only just lightening and his twin had finally fallen asleep. This was no time to express his hatred for Cipher.

With Stanford gone, Dipper continued leading Bill up the stairs, only turning to talk when he had shut the attic door quietly behind them. He took a deep breath.

"Bill, I told you. For an omniscient being I cannot believe how often I have to repeat myself for you. _We are not together_."

"Yet," the demon responded casually. Diverting his attention from the brunet, he knelt down to look at the books and flashlight he had left out previously.

"No, _ever_. So what gave you the right to pull that stunt last night?" Dipper continued, too flustered about that night's sleeping position to focus on what Bill was doing.

This was suitable considering the demon was not particularly paying attention to Dipper either. Holding up a hand in an attempt to stop Dipper from ranting on, Bill said softly, "Glasses has been in here."

"What?"

"Glasses. He was looking through your things last night," Bill explained, looking at Dipper with an expression akin to concern.

"So what? Stanley was probably just in here to reference one of my books. Unlike you, he's actually trustworthy."

Bill snorted but said no more, turning away from Dipper once again. The brunet took it as a cue that he could continue.

"So? I told you last night that I don't like you. You're a demon that threatened my sister; _why_  would I like you? And you're the one always calling me an idiot but you can't even follow instructions." He paused, almost pouting. "I'm not letting this go, Bill."

Growing exasperated with the brunet sticking to that topic, Bill turned to make eye contact with Dipper. "It meant nothing, Pine Tree. Would it make you happier if I said I was just trying to follow your 'stay in sight' rule?"

Dipper hesitated. He wasn't squeamish around blood, the result of the demon's disobeying his commands, but he wasn't fond of the idea that Bill's body could start deteriorating so quickly either. While he searched for something to say, the demon approached him and put a light hand on his shoulder.

With a smile he said, "C'mon, you told me not to hint that we're together and I haven't. I know you're not really _fond_  of me right now, but am I not allowed to like you? I like you, kid, or else I wouldn't have-"

"Don't touch me!" Dipper yelped, finally getting his mind to work. He pushed Bill back roughly in reaction to his mind conjuring up the image of his twin burning again. "I hate you!"

Bill stumbled back, confused momentarily before straightening his posture, clearly enraged now. Stepping forward, his eyes flashed bright red and blue fire engulfed his figure. With flames licking at the space around his hands the demon yanked Dipper forward by the upper arm and grasped his neck with the other hand. His grip on the brunet's neck wasn't too tight, just enough to make Dipper cough but not stop him from breathing entirely.

The episode was brief, lasting no longer than sixty seconds. Clearing his throat, Bill let go of Dipper and retreated. His eyes returned to normal and the wispy fire disappeared. Noticing the black blood staining his lips and chin, he absently wiped the liquid away. Not once did he break his eye contact with the brunet.

"Geeze, Pine Tree, I appreciate your spirit but there's no need to bring out my wrath. Especially when its obvious you're lying." Most of the speech came out as a hiss, though Bill was trying to make his tone cheerier. He liked seeing Dipper terrified but not if it was going to drive him away.

"H-how- you're not supposed to use your powers," Dipper stammered, still trying to regain his breath. "Not without my approval."

"In theory, sure kid, but it helps that I'm a masochist. The taste of my own blood is more than worth it when I get to use my demonic powers." Bill smiled widely, revealing the remainder of the substance that he hadn't wiped away earlier.

"You shouldn't make yourself bleed internally like that," the brunet scolded sheepishly. He gestured to the hand still stained in blood. "Is expressing your anger at me really worth... that?"

Bill frowned, thinking calmly for a moment. "No, Pine Tree, its not. Not when you're so upset over something happening to _me_. I won't do that again."

"Good."

"Still mad at me, kid?"

Dipper shivered slightly. "Well, you did apologize, in your own way, I guess. No. I just want to know why you keep bringing up things that haven't even happened yet. Or most likely won't happen, actually."

"Its hard trying not to speak about something only you know about as of yet. This doesn't even have any consequence in the long run. Besides, its fun making you flustered," Bill smirked.

Frustration registering once more, Dipper was about to protest when his cell phone vibrated. Clamping his mouth shut unwillingly, he slipped over to his desk and made the screen light up to reveal a text message from Wendy.

 _Might run a bit late. C ya in a bit_.

"Damn, I almost forgot," Dipper swallowed. He put his phone back down and eyed Bill warily.

"Yeesh, Pine Tree, watch your fucking language," the demon teased, unable to keep the proud grin from appearing momentarily.

Ignoring Bill's comment, Dipper made him face away as he started preparing for the day. He rattled off to Bill his specific instructions for the day: "Look, my friends, Soos and Wendy, y'know, they're coming over today. I haven't seen them in months and you really delayed my seeing them this summer. That was rude, by the way, on so many levels. Just, stay out of the way. I know they're used to all the supernatural stuff but, it'll be enough that you're even _here_. Don't add anything else."

The blond grabbed _Lesser Key_  and threw himself down on Dipper's bed, flipping through the pages. Dipper was almost certain that Bill wasn't listening, though a few well placed hums threw off that assumption slightly.

"You have anything else better to read, kid? These are centuries old; I've read them all. You must have some new material."

"Well... no. Why are you reading those anyway if you've already seen them?" Content that Bill had heard him he let the subject change for now.

"I already know the secrets of the universe and more; its fun seeing how you humans describe the same events and ideas so differently. Don't get me wrong, everything is already pretty elaborate, but all of your books sure go out of their way to complicate things." He closed _Lesser Key_  and shoved it away. "Except this one, its old news."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll make a note of that. Just tell me you'll behave; they'll be here soon."

He led Bill back downstairs to find Mabel making breakfast for her and Pacifica. Stanford was still gone and Stanley just getting up now - the Mystery Shack would be opening late apparently. Gesturing for Bill to sit down away from his twin, he waited at the entrance to the kitchen impatiently. When a knock finally came his tense muscles sprung him into action immediately.

"Soos! Wendy! Oh, hey Melody!" Dipper grinned as he opened the front door, Mabel coming to hang over his shoulder cheerily. He shook Soos's hand while Mabel squealed and greeted Wendy and Melody.

"Its been too long!"

"That it has," Wendy said calmly, a bright smile painted on her lips.

Even with the long-distance, Melody had stuck with Soos and after a few years she was able to move back to Gravity Falls. His business supporting him steadily, they got their own apartment and since then their relationship had only improved. She hung onto his arm now, positively beaming.

The mood of the day remained lighthearted, friendly, partially thanks to Dipper remaining vigilante in keeping Bill silent. He spent a fair amount of the day glancing back to the demon, who sat at the very edge of the living room listening to the conversations. An introduction for him was kept brief, the twins continuously biting back the subject of who he was to keep the day a happy one. From there forward Dipper glared at him and slyly pointed to his pendant whenever a risky subject that Bill might comment on was brought up.

"Hey, dudes," Soos called. Several minutes before he had gone to the bathroom stained with blue dye. "All that blue stuff on the bathroom floor. Yeah, I got it out for ya."

Mabel started. "Seriously? We tried everything and it only faded a little."

"Yeah, what did you use?"

"Nail polish remover," Soos shrugged. He sat back down next to Melody.

"I didn't think that actually worked," Mabel commented, voice strained. Dipper shook his head and shrugged.

"Well, its Soos. He can fix anything."

The discussions shifted over to Soos's business, resulting in Bill slumping in his seat and looking bored. He looked ready to insult the simpleness of humanity but bit his tongue instead to avoid Dipper's growing disapproval of him.

While Soos and Melody talked about how their lives were going, Wendy followed Dipper's frequent gaze at the demon and frowned. Towards the end of the visit she finally resolved to lean in and ask the brunet if they could talk privately for a moment.

Sitting down on the porch couch, Dipper smiled awkwardly and asked, "So what's up?"

Wendy shifted next to him uneasily. "That guy, Bill, does he have something to do with one of the Stans or...? You don't seem to like him very much."

"Oh, yeah," Dipper started, voice shaking. "He's an old friend of Stanley's but Stanley has been running tours today so, yeah, he decided to just hang out with us."

"He looks kinda young to be friends with Stanley."

"Uh, well, he has to do with the supernatural, too, so I mean-" Dipper cut off.

He was rather hesitant about telling Wendy that he had summoned a demon. _Hey, Wendy, long time no see. Guess what, I summoned Bill Cipher before even seeing you._  It was a miracle that he caught himself before wincing. This conversation just really was not how he wanted to start off the summer with one of his best friends.

But then, he hadn't wanted to start off the summer with Bill Cipher hanging around, either.

Standing up, Bill made his way to the kitchen quickly and washed out the blood in his mouth. Sighing at the immediate return of it, he muttered under his breath, "Damn, kid, could've at least warned me."

With a look of frustration and weariness he found his way to the porch and sat on the floor in front of Dipper, leaning against the brunet's legs pointedly. Wendy and Dipper paused in their conversation, waiting for him to speak, but Bill only sat there pouting.

"So... you're one of Stanley's friends?" Wendy attempted.

"Glasses? Yeah, we go back a bit," Bill deadpanned.

"Cool." A pause. "You gonna hang out with us this summer, dude?"

Bill shrugged. "We'll see. Depends on if I'm still wanted here."

Dipper almost snorted at that.

A squeal reached them from inside. "I'm so happy for you two, though!"

Mabel showed Soos and Melody, as well as Pacifica, to the door when they decided to end their visit. Wendy stood up and slipped to their side. She glanced briefly at Bill in suspicion before turning back to Dipper.

"We'll hang out later. Go to the pool or something. Catch ya later, Dipper. Mabel."

When the four friends had left, Bill wiped his lips of the remaining black blood, gesture exaggerated to make Dipper notice.

"Forget something?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be long, so, please bear with these short ones in the meantime. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!  
> 


	10. Energy

He unfolded a paper airplane to read the large, swooping handwriting written inside.

_Ur not gonna kill him or something, right?_

He wanted to laugh, but that wouldn’t be tactful with Shooting Star watching him so intently from across the room. His expression remained sober, almost blank, as he scribbled back an answer in his own prim scrawl.

_Definitely not, SS. Just want to teach him more magic without knocking down this shack._

Folding the plane up again neatly, he tossed it back to Shooting Star, giving her a reassuring smile. Keeping his eyes on her, he ignored the glare he was receiving from Pine Tree. She looked up from the paper, uncertain.

Pulling forward a new sheet of paper, he wrote a new message out for her.

_Calm down, he’ll return in one piece. Better than ever, in fact. He’ll be Pine Tree Plus when we get back. Would you like to come?_

He could have sworn Shooting Star appeared slightly sick as she returned the paper.

_NO. I’ve heard enough about what is involved with your magic. That poor bird…_

The amused smile that came to his lips could not have been stopped if he tried.

* * *

Bill led the way into the forest, giving off the impression that he knew precisely where he was going. Lithely stepping over the undergrowth and absently holding tree branches aside for Dipper, he made his way deeper into the shadows.

It was to Dipper’s relief that the demon had not spat up any more blood recently - none that he was aware of, anyway. On the downside he constantly had a powerful but annoying being chasing his shadow, however, there was no blood and he knew for certain that no harm would come to Mabel under his watch. Though, the conversations via paper airplane were starting to grate on his nerves slightly. The two got along better than he had expected or wanted and he had been denied an answer as to _why_ when he tried to ask.

It was also to Dipper’s relief that Bill had not touched him or insisted on some future relationship of theirs - as if - since Wendy and Soos had come over. He remained annoying, obviously, telling cynical and masochistic jokes, and occasionally whining about Dipper’s personal library, but that’s where he stopped. The latter bit even faded after the twins took Bill to the public library so that he could get more books, most of which concerned odd theories about 2012 even though the year had already passed and other mainstream conspiratorial worries.

For the most part he simply followed Dipper around when he started working in the Mystery Shack, though at one point he did try to use Dipper’s laptop while the brunet was busy only to crash it immediately then make it run better than before. Dipper was still a little dumbfounded by that whole business. At night he sat on the floor in front of Dipper’s bed and read his checked-out books, skimming the words until passing out then and there from exhaustion, which was an every other night occurrence.

After catching him still asleep one morning, Dipper woke Bill up and asked if he was going into the mindscape. He didn’t want the demon doing anymore damage without his knowing but for all he knew the tell-tale sign of blood was being swallowed, so the best solution he could think of was to ask. To this Bill said no wearily, he had done no such thing - in fact, he had no dreams at all. Being shut out of the mindscape had locked him out of such things completely.

Then, about a week after his arrival the brunet finally approached Bill about their bargain that the demon could keep making deals if he would give and teach Dipper some of his demonic powers. He was growing exasperated about not even receiving word of when they could do something that he was genuinely excited for yet.

“You _are_ going to teach me more magic, right? You weren’t just lying?” The irritation in his tone had been evident.

“Yes, kid, I haven’t forgotten. Yeesh, give me some time to get used to being outside the mindscape and under the control of some petty human before going after me for this. We’ll do it next Sunday.”

Some distance behind them a branch snapped under some heavy weight, snapping Dipper out of his reflections.

“I don’t have to do any more animal sacrifices, do I?” he started.

“No, Pine Tree, not this time.” Bill paused. “Well, it would be nice if you did. You never do anything for me.”

Dipper stopped in his tracks. “And what have you been doing for _me_?”

Bill only turned away with a “tsk.”

The air lightened a bit as they approached the clearing Dipper had performed the summoning in. When they broke free of the wall of trees and emerged into the early morning light they found it to look just as it did when Dipper had first found it. Stanley had done a rather good job clearing away all of the chalk marks apparently.

Pulling the backpack Dipper had made him carry off of his shoulders, Bill turned to the brunet and sighed. “You sure you wanna do this?”

Dipper faced him immediately, glaring. “You gave me your word you would do this.”

“I know. It just might have some side effects. Not bad ones, of course. And you’ll have to let me back into the mindscape during this. Are you su-”

“Yes, Bill! Why would I pass up the chance to learn more magic? I can fill out more journals on the supernatural with your help. Just, tell me what we’re doing, why are we out here? Do I have to do another Circle? I’d rather not; they take forever.” Dipper walked past Bill and sat down on the edge of the clearing, leaning back against a tree trunk. The demon lingered where he already stood.

“No, no more of those. Last time you did a complicated spell you couldn’t even bother to do it properly.” Bill really was not going to let this go, but he just didn’t enjoy being stuck in that decaying body. “We’re only here because transferring energy can be potentially destructive - especially to technology - and I don’t need Fez coming after me for breaking something. Also this really is not the sort of thing that should be interrupted or walked in on or anything like that.”

“And these _side effects_?” Dipper quirked an eyebrow.

“You might get a mark somewhere on your body. Kind of like how I had a third eye before but permanent and more like a…” Bill tapped on his bottom lip, thinking. “You do already have that birthmark on your forehead, so no, never mind, I’ll doubt you’ll get anything like that, Pine Tree.”

Dipper snorted. “Some side effect. What else? You have to go back into the mindscape. Is there anything else?”

“I need access to the mindscape and my demonic powers. I am transferring energy to you after all. I’ll basically be copying my own demonic powers over to you so you can use them once I teach you how to.”

“But once we leave the clearing, that’s it, no more access to the mindscape or your powers.”

“Whatever you want, Pine Tree.”

“Alright, let’s do this.” Dipper began to push himself to his feet.

The demon was immediately at his side, snatching up Dipper’s hands and dragging him to his feet with a hum. Shocked by this sudden move, the brunet tried to pull his hands free but was only met with Bill tightening his grip and shaking his head. He pulled them further into the clearing then frowned, concentrating.

His eyes lit up first, a brilliant gold. After a beat the light spread in blue flames along his entire figure. His pupils elongated, taking on the slit shape that he had in his demonic form. On his forehead the faintest etching of a third eye, a physical manifestation of his omniscience, began to shine in a pale yellow.

The world around them turned black and white, signalling Bill’s use of the mindscape to channel his demonic power.

Bill’s expression fell blank in concentration, lips falling slightly ajar and eyes unseeing as he redirected this new intake of energy.

After several long moments tendrils of blue fire began to swirl around Dipper’s hands, wrapping themselves around his fingertips and stretching up towards his wrists. As soon as the flames reached the man’s flesh they turned a gold that matched the shade lighting up Bill’s eyes. Noticing the electric shock of the new energy, Dipper leaned into the flow of the shifting power. As the transparent rivulets outlined his frame and deepened, the light shocks gradually turned into a rush of what felt like adrenaline and pain, exhaustion and unlimited endurance.

His jaw went slack, his mind quieting as his body buzzed with the high intake of power. His own accumulated magic softened the flow ever so slightly, helping staunch the pain, but it really was no match for Bill’s perfected demonic power. Dipper could not completely hold onto his consciousness as the magic reworked his body and aura.

When the licks of blue-turned-gold flames reached his temples, his eyes took on a blue glow, growing more intense over several minutes. The blue lit up his birthmark, already tinted in gold, making it a center of the power he was gaining. His pupils elongated to match Bill’s, a temporary marker of his sharing energy with the demon.

The continuous pain left him breathless, and he could have sworn his heart had stopped for a few minutes. His body was overwhelmed by the drastic increase in energy. Time escaped him entirely.

Abruptly Bill ripped his hands away from Dipper’s, cutting off the stream of gold. He swayed slightly on his feet, a bit winded and weary but otherwise fine, and watched as the brunet fell to his knees before him. Color leaked back into the world as the flames faded away from his body, though his pupils remained elongated and his third eye visible still. It took longer for the fire to disappear from Dipper’s frame, leaving only his birthmark tinted in gold and no other signs of what had just transpired.

“No, see, no new mark,” Bill muttered to himself.

Dipper wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep himself together while the pain that had burned every nerve in his body ebbed away slowly. It was past noon when he was finally able to look up at Bill, too tired at the moment to be resentful at the amused smile on the demon’s lips.

“Get up, kid,” Bill said eventually, growing exasperated. He grabbed Dipper’s upper arm and forced him to his feet. “You’re overreacting; its pathetic.”

Groaning, the brunet pulled himself away from the demon’s grasp and tried to stand up straight. “Overreacting? I think you just set me on fire. It sure as hell felt like it.”

“Your body’s just getting used to the new power. Kinda like growing pains, or whatever it is that humans call it.”

“This is worse, this is so much worse. You could’ve mentioned this before we began.” He finally caught his breath and felt his heartbeat even out.

“If I had mentioned it you would have tried to back out or tensed up. You wouldn’t have accepted it as well if you were stressed. You did pretty good though; the amount of energy you took in would have killed a normal human being,” Bill grinned at him, almost proudly.

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me. There’s a certain amount of energy a human can take before their body gives up and you took in that amount and more. Not that I’m surprised, you were already powerful on your own.”

“You… were you trying to kill me?” Faint wisps of gold played along his fingertips. Bill noticed this though he said nothing.

“Why, of course not! How could you accuse me of such a thing when I just gave you the power to be practically invincible if you so wished? I only gave you the amount that I knew you could handle.”

“Practically invincible? You never did really explain to me what you meant by _demonic powers_.” Dipper automatically leaned forward, awaiting more details.

Bill grabbed his wrist and held it up so that Dipper could see the faint golden flames that were only now receding from around his fingertips. The brunet gasped, shock registering for both the embodiment of his new power and Bill’s continuously touching him, which contrasted their lack of contact over the past week. Dipper yanked his hand away from the demon’s grasp, excited over this new discovery but rapidly growing crestfallen as the energy disappeared.

“I wasn’t able to do that before…” he muttered. The brunet shook his hand a few times, hoping the flames would return. After a moment he looked up at Bill. “How? How did I do that?”

“Emotions, kid; you were upset and that was a subconscious response. I’m sure you’ve heard that demons only have a limited range of emotions - only the deadly sins, in fact. That’s part of the reason why. Magic is ridiculously easy to spark if you’re experiencing some intense emotion,” the blond explained calmly.

Dipper nodded, thinking it over, before gaining an expression marked with skepticism. “Why are you answering my questions like this? Shouldn’t you be calling me dumb for not knowing better or something?”

“A deal is a deal, and I've been good enough to honor it without the handshake. Its worth it to be able to keep making deals. But now that you mention it, you are pretty dumb, kid. This knowledge is elementary,” Bill laughed. Then, just as jovially, “Hey, maybe now you will be grateful enough to offer up that sacrifice we were talking about earlier!”

“No more animal sacrifices, dude.”

“But, Pine Tree-”

“No.” He raised his voice, hardening the tone boldly. The golden flames leaped back into existence around his fingers. “I know you gain power from it but what’s the point if you’re not allowed to use it?”

The demon ignored the question, instead reaching for Dipper’s wrist again. Careful not to touch the flames outlining the flesh, he kept the other’s hand in his grasp to examine it. With a hum he commented, “We’ll have to work on your control over magic. Can’t have you go through life attracting attention because you never learned how to handle your emotions. They used to burn people for much less, y'know.”

Not bothering to pull his hand away, Dipper furrowed his eyebrows. “Wait, for life? Wouldn’t the energy you gave me eventually run out? I mean, you had to give me a finite amount.”

“Hang on.” Bill did not bother looking up at the man as he raised his own hand and snapped his fingers. Brilliant blue fire engulfed his hand and the mark of his third eye grew brighter in response. Pursing his lips, he tipped his fingers forward to meet Dipper’s, forcing his energy to meet the golden flames.

Nothing.

No spark or other expected reaction from two different energies colliding, only a blurred overlay of green and gentle increase in warmth. The demon smiled proudly once more and met Dipper’s inquisitive gaze.

“See, I told you I would give you some of my own power. If this was your own energy there would have been a shock, my energy rejecting yours. This will last, its another side effect.”

“Okay, but you never answered my previous question,” Dipper pointed out, repeating what he had asked moments before. His free hand idly reached up to touch the pendant at his neck.

“The power I gave you is finite, sure, but you’re forgetting your own. What I gave you is stronger than anything you could have produced alone, and since energy is perpetually trying to find a way to perfect itself, naturally yours would copy mine. Directly I gave you a finite amount, but you will have your own version of my demonic power for the rest of your life. And you have a good deal of your own power, kid, you showed that clearly enough at the summoning. You’ll keep these abilities, long after what I gave you runs out.”

“So that’s another side effect then? My energy will keep copying yours, so we’ll never clash, like what you showed me earlier. What else?” He paused, frowning. “Actually, you failed to explain a lot of things before doing this.”

“Too late now, kid. Besides, you’re the one who told me to go ahead,” the demon reminded smugly.

Dipper sighed. “Yeah, whatever. So what else? What other side effects? And what about that invincibility thing you mentioned?”

“Oh, well obviously now you can do magic beyond what humans can do on their own. All those abilities listed in _Lesser Key_ and the Latin script that went with it that were attributed to demons - that should give you an idea of what you could do with the proper spells. My own magic leans towards dreams but you still have a bit of human left in you so you can go ahead and learn what you please.”

“A bit of human left in me,” Dipper repeated, monotone.

“Slow down, I was getting to that part. Its one of the side effects. Anyway, with your new form of energy you can-”

“Bill,” Dipper cut him off. The gold that still clad his hand flared slightly, now rejecting Bill’s touch. The demon pulled his hand back with a hiss, about to ask how Dipper had done that, though he was not given the chance. “Skip it. What do you mean by a _bit of human left_?”

The demon sighed. “You’re ruining my speech but fine. Did you really expect to be given demonic powers and not lose your humanity a bit? There’s different types of energy for different beings; the type I have is vastly different from a human’s, and a human’s is different from an actual pine tree's. Mine’s more powerful, too overwhelming for anyone below my rank. But you, kid, magic has taken quite a liking to you, so you _can_ handle much of what I throw at you. It hurts a bit, and takes some getting used to, but eventually you assimilate it. Understand?”

“No, Bill, what-”

“Let’s go on then.” He called forward his own blue flames and clasped Dipper’s hand again, making the gold fade. “You just took in a large amount of energy that could kill a normal person, added it to your own store. Yours will keep copying mine, an energy made by and meant for demons. Your energy type was literally shifted from human - albeit an advanced form - to demon. Its settled in the middle since then as your energy has assimilated mine, but it doesn’t erase the fact that yours is made partially from demonic power. Ebbs away at the humanity a bit, you see.”

“And just what the hell does this mean for me?” Dipper spat out the question, jaw clenched. Had Bill not been holding his hand, redirecting the energy that still responded to him, the gold flames would have flared again.

“As I said: you’re missing a bit of your humanity now. Not much, I presume, considering that advanced energy of yours reworked mine immediately to prevent much harm coming your way. You might not feel certain emotions as intensely, and you’ll have to put up with your emotions triggering a chaotic reaction. Just be thankful that you’re not restricted to certain powers like some of us, your humanity gives you a broader array of abilities. And there’s no summoning. Or need for animal sacrifice. All the power and independence on top of it - you’re pretty lucky, kid!”

“Lucky?! Are you kidding me?! You just told me you erased part of my humanity. What the hell does this make me anyway?”

“Half-demon. Honestly, Pine Tree, you should be thanking me. Most humans would have had to sell off their souls or make some other major deal to get a demon to do this. I was gracious enough to give you such power without much of a reward - just something I was able to do before you summoned me.” A smile came to his lips. “And think of it this way: with this new type of power now you really can figure out the supernatural stuff going on around here.”

Dipper remained silent for a moment, wordlessly admitting that Bill had a point: he _did_ get what he wanted. There just happened to be a few side effects…

“Please tell me there’s a way to reverse that half-demon thing. Maybe over time my energy will just drop copying yours so much and I can go back to more human?” He couldn’t keep the pleading tone out of his voice.

“Nope!” Bill chirped instantly. “Unless you introduce some new power source - which I doubt you’ll find easily - to rework your energy again, it won’t change. You’re stuck with a watered down version of my power and the half-demon status that comes with it from now on.”

The brunet glared at him, heart racing as his fury at the demon increased. “You made me a weaker version of you without bothering to tell me first? What the hell, Bill?!”

Dipper ripped his hand away from the blond’s grasp, now able to let the golden flames surge from his fingertips. His eyes were tinted blue, though not as brilliant as they had been when he first gained this new energy. Without thinking, he lunged forward and caught Bill’s throat under his grasp, mimicking the demon’s actions from days before. Only this time, he intended to stop Bill’s breathing.

Struggling to break free of Dipper, Bill reached up to place his hands on the brunet’s wrists and try to force them from his neck. Outranking him in strength, Bill was able to throw Dipper off of him within a matter of minutes. His eyes growing black and the fire issuing from his hands red and white, the demon pushed him to the ground and held him there. Standing over him, Bill went on to level out the blue energy until it disappeared completely.

“Don’t try that again, Pine Tree. You agreed to the bargain, you asked for this. I even warned you that there might be side effects.”

He waited for the brunet to nod meekly before reverting to his normal form, this time with his pupils rounded and third eye gone. Dipper drew his knees up to his chest, conflicted and furious at once at this new revelation. All he had wanted was to learn more magic; he didn’t want _this_. He couldn’t even blame Bill, it was his own fault for not thinking it through.

Again.

Bill knelt in front of him, much calmer now, though Dipper didn’t look up. “We need to ease up that energy a bit. You already have a lot of magic naturally, but now you have enough to get reactions to your very human emotions. I’m gonna guess you still want those?”

Dipper nodded.

“Well, I can’t always be there to hold your hand when you feel one emotion or another, and its gonna take sometime before you master separating your emotions from triggering anything. Once you learn more you’ll be able to use and stifle the magic as you wish, but for now I have a solution - if you don’t mind a little more pain.” Bill reached for the backpack.

“Are there any side effects?”

“None. All it does is help you redirect energy better.”

“Just do it. I don’t want to repeat…”

“Good thing you didn’t bother unpacking your backpack,” the demon commented, pulling out the knife previously used - now cleaned - and some gauze he had thought to pack on his own. Seeing Dipper’s questioning glance, he explained, “I figured you might react badly to some of this - which you did - but this use is fine, too.”

“Why didn’t you explain all this before doing it?” Dipper groaned.

“Already told you: I couldn’t have you tense during all of this. It’ll be worth it, you’ll see when your mind is clearer. You won’t regret getting an opportunity virtually no human has gotten before. You’ll adapt, Pine Tree, get on perfectly well without that bit of humanity.”

“How do you know?” He couldn’t keep the bite out of his tone.

“Omniscience - ring a bell?” 

Bill held the knife and bandages as he positioned himself next to the brunet. Taking up his dominant hand and flipping it to face palm down, the demon carefully etched a small rune into the skin just below the wrist with the knife. Neat strokes formed four long lines, one vertical, one horizontal, and the other two diagonal, each end sporting a different symbol. He hummed, then added a triangle in the center, a personal touch that enhanced the rune for Dipper. The cuts themselves were thin and didn’t run deep, enough to draw blood but not enough to require stitches. All the while as he did this he muttered a dead language under this breath, voice low and husky. Setting the knife aside, he quickly bandaged up the wound, tying it tightly and watching as red slowly stained the white.

He repeated the same thing for Dipper’s other wrist, trying to be gentle so as not to hurt the brunet any further.

As he tied the second bandage, he informed, “The rune is called a Vegvisir. It means _see the way_  which is precisely what you need to do in this case, when you think about it. Anyway, it should work in helping you direct your energy properly.“

When gauze covered both wrists, he moved Dipper’s bangs aside to make sure the pale gold tint of his birthmark that had lingered earlier disappeared. Satisfied with the results, the demon began to move away from Dipper, reasoning that the man must despise him at this point.

But instead, Dipper grabbed his hand and pulled him back down next to him. Exhausted and overwhelmed by emotions - of all things - he leaned against Bill, who was polite enough to ignore the tears staining his cheeks for the moment. The demon responded by wrapping an arm around him, watching the sun dip westward as the brunet shuddered.

This reminded him too much of Stanley’s warning when he first arrived: he had done it, he had dug himself into deep. Made a bargain he wasn’t sure was worth it - though funnily enough it was something he had _asked_ for.

Noticing Dipper’s gloomy mood, Bill tightened his grip on his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My eternal thanks to [this brilliant person](http://xxphantomchildxx.tumblr.com/) for proofreading this chapter for me!
> 
> A/N: the story gets pretty explicit from here (depictions of violence/death & sexual content) so I'm going to set it to "explicit" now as a warning. Hope you all are enjoying Sigil!


	11. Sunset

Handwriting neat but far from the decorative style he treasured, Stanley tried to stuff as many details as he could onto one page in his journal. Previous pages had recorded in-depth descriptions of the summoning and Bill Cipher's subsequent form and behavior, leaving him with few pages left for this entry. It was a bad idea to try to turn to a new page right now anyway; Dipper and Bill had fallen silent and he would not risk being caught.

The shifting canopy of leaves above him scattered his limited light source, making it difficult to see the lined paper and actually write along it. Despite this he pressed forward, even as the day wore on and the forest grew darker. He would make sense of the scrawl later but right now it was top priority that he mark down every aspect of the scene before him.

A _half-demon_ , is that what Bill had said? A quick jot down of this then he stiffened, fury rising inside him though he quelled it. No outbursts from him, only complete silence. He had made enough mistakes earlier when he stepped on that damn branch, to do anything more would threaten his position incognito.

Muscles tensed and he prepared to lunge forward as Bill held Dipper down. Why was Stanford always saying that Dipper could handle himself when the kid had almost been killed twice now? He was doing right by watching them, ready to cut off Bill's violence if need be in cases like this.

He could barely make out their conversation but whatever Bill was saying it was obvious that Dipper was falling for it. With a sinking feeling Stanley looked on as the demon threw an arm around Dipper and pulled him closer.

So he was going down _this_  route now...

* * *

The sun continued its descent westward, the sky growing darker and the stars appearing slowly later on.

Shock pulsed through him still, filling him with sorrow and numbness at once, a cool depression that left him breathless and his chest aching. Not too mindful of the blood-stained bandages tight around his wrists, he pressed his legs to his torso with his arms and rested his chin on his knees. Pain caused from the energy exchange still echoed in his limbs, worsening his mood. For the most part his mind blocked the majority of what had just happened, though there were intervals when he was hit with this new truth all over again. Each time he swallowed thickly and tried to ignore the next stream of tears, the shudders and rolling of his stomach as if he would be sick.

This was it. He'd gone too far, he just knew it. And Bill's physical attempt at comfort was not helping much.

Bill was on the verge of panicking - why wouldn't Pine Tree calm down? He had been silent all afternoon, alternating between contemplation and a choked sobbing. On the plus side he was getting the chance to see just how much humanity Dipper had left, though the means with which he was given this opportunity was making him uncomfortable. While he did feel some satisfaction that Dipper had gotten what he had wanted so desperately - to hang onto his humanity - a large part of Bill wished his demonic energy had stifled this particular emotion.

Sure, he wanted Dipper to suffer, but not when this was supposed to have made him _happy_.

By the time the brunet had begun mourning his new status for what must have been the third time the sun had set. Sighing, Bill laid back against the ground, pulling Dipper down with him so that the brunet's head was resting against his shoulder. His arm was still slung around the other's shoulders, keeping Dipper in place, though this was unnecessary as he didn't protest this move.

With a smirk the demon pointed to the north. "Look, kid, the big dipper."

Dipper jumped slightly next to him, having gotten used to the silence. The most he could muster in response was a despondent "Yeah."

Huffing, Bill dropped his hand and continued in a louder voice. "Remind me: what was it you wanted when we first came out here? Why were you so insistent on my going ahead with the energy exchange?"

A pause. Then, "To learn and do more magic."

"Ding ding ding, you're correct! And what can you do now?"

"...more magic, yeah, but-"

"Yep, more magic! You accomplished your goal. You even got magic from the most powerful dream demon. So what's with the moping?"

"I lost some of my humanity and you made me half-demon!" Dipper shot back, voice rising.

"That's it?" Bill wrinkled his nose. "Considering your incessant sobbing I wouldn't say you lost much, kid. And what's wrong with being half-demon?"

"Well for starters-"

"Just look at what you can do now!"

Not bothering to listen to Dipper's protests, Bill pushed the brunet off of him then pulled them both to their feet. Still allowed to access his magic without restraint, he stretched out his hands and urged them to alight in blue flames. His third eye drew itself on his forehead again as he threw his head back and rearranged the stars from the big dipper into a pine tree - a visual effect - with controlled flicks of his wrist. Leaving the stars there and the world around them grey, he turned to Dipper and grinned.

"Try something! Just concentrate, you'll get it. But I'm sick of you crying over nothing."

Wiping his tears away roughly, the brunet looked back to the pine tree made of stars and tried to return it to its normal arrangement by copying Bill's movements. Gold flames danced on his fingertips and lit up his birthmark, though it still took him a few tries to move the stars. All the while the demon cheered him on with encouragement and corrected how he held his wrists, smiling at him brightly when the big dipper was realigned. Thrill and pride running down his spine, the brunet wore his own small smile when he faced the demon again.

"There, see? You moved the stars themselves and still have those human emotions of yours!"

"For a second there I thought you were gonna show me a screaming head or something again," Dipper laughed shakily.

"Do you want one?"

"No! No, I like the star trick." His earlier sorrow started to chip away, excitement over the displays of magic replacing it.

"I thought you'd like that. And there's more than that. You can chase down all the stuff in those Journals that Glasses wrote. You could even stare down the Gremloblin. You can protect Shooting Star yourself with all the power you have now."

Dipper perked up a bit at this. "Really? So even if you-" He cut himself off, realizing too late that he was being rude to insinuate such a thing _now_. Bill had just given him extraordinary powers, enough to perhaps stop any further death threats from the demon himself, this was not the time to be accusing him.

"If I what? If I hurt Shooting Star? Why would I do that? She's my friend," the blond argued immediately, his tone making it clear that he was insulted. "I only threatened her so that you would listen to me."

"Bill, I didn't mean..." Guilt made his heart twinge. In almost a whisper, "You have been making her happier with those notes you two give each other."

"Precisely - Shooting Star is great! She has good ideas." He paused, stifling a sigh. "But yes, Pine Tree, if I ever put her in danger, you would have a fair chance in stopping me. Even for just a little while so that she could escape."

Dipper rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, eyes cast downwards. "I didn't mean anything by it, Bill, I just..."

"Hate demons?" Bill supplemented, looking at the brunet. "You made that clear enough when you told me you hated me and your constant moping about these past few hours."

"I didn't expect you to take any offense! You're the who said demons don't have many emotions." Dipper glared at him.

"And you're the one who has been studying demonology for years and summoned a Chief King of demons. What's your point?" The blond took a deep breath, trying not to be upset with Dipper at the moment. "You can be suspicious of me all you want but that doesn't change the fact that you don't hate demons. You shouldn't anyway, considering you are one now."

" _Half-demon_."

"Its close enough." He leaned in closer, smiling. "Which means you can't hate me just because I'm a demon. So what's your argument? I never actually threatened Shooting Star - it was for your own safety. In fact, I'd rather like an apology for suggesting I'd actually harm her."

Dipper remained silent for a moment.

"Fine. But what about Stanley? You sent him away for thirty years and since you were summoned - and before that, actually - all you've done is hint that he's untrustworthy and leading me down a dangerous path or something like that."

"He is untrustworthy! Glasses broke our deal. Did he ever even tell you what happened? Or is he being secretive again? He's like that, you know."

"Just tell me what he did, Bill."

"Back when Glasses first came to Gravity Falls he was a lot like you: into the supernatural and demonology and all that. I decided to help him out a bit, offer some insight into the mysteries of the town if he'd do me a little favor in return. I was even kind enough to give him a good deal of information before we ever shook on the deal. Show I'm a trustworthy demon, y'know. And I felt kinda sorry for him after having to show him Fez's death so that he would stay away from _Lesser Key_  considering he was a-"

"Wait," Dipper interjected. "You kept me away from the book because I was originally going to _really_  mess up the spell, but what was Stanley going to do?"

"Don't you know? I guess he never told you. The reason Glasses included spells in those Journals of his is because he can do magic, too, enough to do a summoning spell alone, in fact. But he's no you, kid, nowhere near as powerful. If he had attempted that summoning spell like he had intended to he would have killed himself in result. Enough power to do the spell, not enough to live afterwards. Which still is impressive for a human, but not good enough. So I decided to give him a less deadly option instead, keep him alive so that he could accomplish his goals."

The fact that Stanley could do magic came as a sort of shock to Dipper, but then, what else had he expected? The Journals were filled with various spells requiring magic from the performer, and he had to have gotten his abilities from someone. Nodding, he gestured for the demon to continue his story.

"As I was saying before, he was a bit of an emotional mess after I showed him Fez dying. Sure, it kept him far away from _Lesser Key_  - until recently apparently - but his loss of motivation was not exactly pleasing. So I visited his dreams again and helped him along in his research of the supernatural. I'd give him descriptions of the creatures lurking in the forest then tell him I knew no more so that he would have to go and find out more himself. And he always did go and come back with notes to share with me that night.

"When he had completed much of the first Journal I offered him a deal: I'd help him uncover more information if he would build that portal for me."

"Stop again. The Journals said that the portal was actually going to be some sort of doomsday device. What the hell, Bill?"

"Yes, the Journals, that Stanley wrote insane notes in. You should definitely trust everything they say," the demon rolled his eyes. "The portal was meant to be an entrance into my planned nightmare realm, not some machine to end the world. I still have plans for Gravity Falls, why would I destroy it? But Glasses was growing paranoid as the years went on. He was writing frantic notes in those Journals and distancing himself from society with that 'trust no one' stuff of his. He _changed_ , kid. And because of that he convinced himself that my portal was going to kill everyone.

"He broke the deal because he went insane. I had nothing to do with that - I was stuck in the mindscape. Before it was complete he tried to destroy it but trapped himself inside the realm instead, breaking the portal practically beyond repair in the meantime. Then Fez came along and redesigned it. That's what happened; Glasses is untrustworthy." Bill shrugged wearily and looked back at the stars.

"So... those thirty years, all of that was his fault?" Dipper began slowly. The demon nodded. "You were just trying to help him and get that deal of yours and he broke your trust."

"Precisely."

"What was that nightmare realm of yours anyway? I know you wrote about it in one of my books years ago."

"Just an alternate reality. Far from something meant to destroy everything." Bill wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Chaos is fun but not when there's no one alive to laugh at."

Dipper shot him a concerned look but let it go. That portal had been destroyed twice now, the demon's chances for ever actually completing his goal were slim at this point.

"Anyway. Now Glasses has been going through your room and I've caught him watching us a few times. He doesn't even trust you; though I doubt he really trusts anyone."

"And what makes you so trustworthy?" Dipper retorted. A large part of him believed what Bill was saying and wanted to trust him - especially after showing him the star trick - but he had had enough of making decisions before thinking everything through clearly. He fully intended to make the demon prove himself before putting any trust in him.

"Well I haven't really tricked you since your summoning me. Even when I possessed you when you were younger I gave you a loophole so that I would be kicked out of your body. When Glasses dictated most of the commands for you, I could have said nothing and let you believe I was now under those orders when I really wasn't, taken advantage of that, but I got your vocal affirmation instead. I didn't have to put myself under those conditions but I did. And I pay every time I break them. Not to mention I just gave you incredible power for practically nothing." There was no persuasion in his tone, only matter-of-fact listing. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Dipper's response.

The brunet groaned. He wasn't supposed to find himself hanging off of Bill's every word like this, believing his stories and points. He wasn't supposed to be silently remarking how good to him the demon really had been.

"Alright, alright, you got me."

He wasn't supposed to be inching closer to Bill, making out his features in the silver light of the moon and stars. Wasn't supposed to feel much less hostile towards him because of the things he said. Wasn't supposed to be kind to him, even though he tended to be generous as a default.

"Look, I'm sorry I suggested that you might hurt Mabel earlier. Its just, demons aren't supposed to be the best of beings. Though I guess I am one halfway now." His laugh was faltering. "So, uh, peace treaty? I'll lift that _stay in my sight_  command for you."

The demon looked at him, wide eyed in shock and... hope? "You will?"

"Yeah, well, I kinda want my privacy back without you coughing up blood on me anyway. Just, don't do anything destructive, and keep away from Mabel."

"Done and done, Pine Tree. I doubt I'll stray too far from you anyway," he hummed.

Becoming a bit more aware of factors outside their conversation, Bill peered at the brunet's hands and noted the absence of golden flames. He had not noticed any since Dipper rearranged the stars, but to make sure this was true he decided to check his birthmark, which tended to keep its golden tint even after the fire had receded. Pulling Dipper closer, he brushed aside the blue-stained bangs with a gentle sweep of his fingers and was satisfied to find no trace of energy.

"Just making sure those runes are working. I haven't seen anything so it looks like they'll keep your emotions from triggering your demonic side." He laughed, teasing, "Hear that, kid? We won't have to burn you at the stake!"

The brunet scoffed at Bill's lame joke, earning only a wider grin in return.

"So are we good then? No more getting mad because I'm a demon or sobbing about being a half-demon now or-"

"Yes, Bill, we're good," Dipper broke in, not caring to hear anymore lists.

The demon hesitated, thinking things over, though he hid this by brushing back Dipper's bangs again and examining his birthmark despite having seen it a plethora of times before. Having won over the brunet's trust elicited what he placed as pride, especially with his new resolution. The paranoia Stanley had was not present, though it was clear that Dipper was trying to be more thoughtful, which he could appreciate. It was about time in his opinion. But it was more than that, something different from pride as well. It wasn't strong enough for him to call lust.

More like mild affection.

Keeping his expression blank to hide his reaction, his mind quickly ran through what he had seen of their future and his current emotions towards the half-demon. He had just gotten what he wanted from Pine Tree, a bit more freedom and another step in the right direction for his plans. Of course he would be satisfied with him, enough to instill less cynical emotions in him when thinking about the other. It was the pride of being able to get this cooperation, greed in wanting more, lust in wanting to gratify the brunet and satisfy himself.

...and mild affection in that he wanted Pine Tree close to him without destroying him in the end.

Making a small sound of disgust, Bill stepped away from Dipper, who by then had started squirming under his touch in unease. Tired of the subject he resentfully accepted this new _affection_  and filed it under 'lust'. For the past couple of weeks he had assumed that the visions he had had of them together were simply his future acting so as to keep the brunet under his thumb. He had even found it clever considering humans were fond of romance and adopted the strategy early on.

Bill grimaced, frozen where he stood. He wasn't supposed to be this proud that he had earned Pine Tree's approval, if only temporarily. He wasn't supposed to be remarking to himself how good the brunet had been to him in breaking one of the commands.

"That's good to hear."

He wasn't supposed to be stepping up to Pine Tree again, his mind reminding him of the powers that now brought them closer to equals. Wasn't supposed to start feeling affectionate since performing the energy exchange with the half-demon. Wasn't supposed to be copying what he had seen in Fez's _romcoms_  when he shouldn't have been thinking of them in relation to Pine Tree in the first place.

Not caring about how Dipper might react, Bill grabbed the brunet's hand to keep him in place. "Listen, you'll come around to like being a half-demon, sooner than you think actually. You'll overcome the side effects and do greater things than rearrange the stars. If you didn't turn this to your advantage, you wouldn't be my Pine Tree."

Before Dipper could respond he tilted his head and met the other's lips briefly. He was aware of the brunet growing still but ignored this; it was enough for him to just be experiencing affection. Eyes shut for a moment, he stayed in this position, trying to mimic what he had seen in the movies though his body language was stiff. After a beat he pulled away quickly.

Dipper stared at him blankly, trying to register what had just happened. His mind raced to catch up and gather a response, which ended up being his stammering, "What. What was that for?"

Bill shrugged in response. "You could have stopped me if you had wanted to, especially now, but you didn't. I guess you're coming around to me, hm?"

A blush painted the half-demon's cheeks and ears and his heart sped up. He frantically tried to decide whether Bill knew what that had meant and if he felt it back but he was not given much time. Impatient with Dipper's nervous silence, the demon had gone about collecting the knife and backpack. With a cluck of his tongue he looked around, frowning at the darkness that had settled over the world.

"Well we were _supposed_  to go back earlier than this, but since we didn't, can you light the way? Once we leave I can't use my magic anymore so you're gonna have to supply the fire," Bill instructed.

Dipper nodded numbly and concentrated for a moment, willing the golden flame into life. He took the lead as they trudged back through the forest, trying to illuminate their immediate surroundings so that the undergrowth would not trip them. By the time they made it back to the Mystery Shack the fire was not as bright, a reaction to Dipper's breathless weariness. His new status had allotted him some new endurance and strength, but after such a long day it was having a difficult time taking effect.

Finding Mabel still up watching television, the two sat down with her. Dipper collapsed next to her on the couch, having already extinguished the flame so that she would not catch on, and Bill perched on an armchair off to the side with the backpack still slung across his shoulder.

With the decision that Mabel would get the full story on what had happened the following day when everyone was more awake, they settled into a few hours of late night reruns. Around 3 am the twins had just started to fall asleep when they were jerked back into consciousness by a gasp from Bill.

The demon was sitting up straight, gold and blue eyes glowing softly. Dipper and Mabel looked at him anxiously, waiting on him to speak for several moments. And then, finally:

"Gideon is coming back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I have added more to the title. And here's why: there'll be a Sigil 2 later on. Whether anyone wants it or not.  
> Also, I've decided to age Dipper and Mabel up to 21 (instead of the previous 19), sorry for the last minute change!


	12. Sunrise

While Bill's eyes lost their glow and he sat back calmly, Gideon waited impatiently for the morning so that he could leave. While Mabel and Dipper stiffened in dread for a few moments then relaxed because they could totally defeat Lil Gideon again, the prisoner reviewed his plans. While the twins tried to shrug it off nervously and Bill forgot about the subject in disinterest, Gideon was restless with anticipation for the next day.

And while the twins and Bill slept soundly, Gideon gathered his belongings and left his cell as the sun rose.

The former owner of the Tent of Telepathy was not the only one restless, however, as Stanley stayed awake all night. He had trailed Bill Cipher and Dipper on their hike back to the Mystery Shack, this time much more keen on not making any noise. With his determination to be completely silent, he had arrived a half hour after the pair did, though at least he had accomplished his goal. Slipping through the door to the gift shop instead of the front door and tiptoeing over to the kitchen, he prepared himself for long hours of sitting at the table and listening carefully for the demon's voice.

Silence and the low volume of television shows he did not care for meeting him was disappointing, and as the night progressed he started to nod off. At around 3 AM he forced himself awake when he heard a quiet gasp from the living room. With slow, deliberate movements he inched over to the doorway so that he could peer into the other room, his heart rate speeding up in the hopes that he could catch something important.

Bill sat up straight, his eyes alight, and muttered some omen that Stanley did not completely understand. He recognized it as a prediction of the future, however, and quickly returned to the kitchen to mark this down in his journal once he was certain that the demon was finished with this intake of new knowledge.

After a while he noticed the patter of footsteps, one set leading to Mabel's room and two others skipping up the stairs to the attic. Closing his journal and holding it under his arm, he followed the two and waited halfway up the staircase, hidden in the shadows and straining to listen out for the cease of any movement. When it seemed safe enough, he crept up the remaining stairs and opened the door slightly, peering in.

Squinting his eyes to try and see better, he figured out that Bill was not in his usual position on the floor, but instead taking up one side of Dipper's bed. The brunet had actually given up a part of his bed for just this one night out of sympathy - he was constantly reminding himself of how much Bill had given him through their bargain and felt the deed should be repaid somewhat.

But Stanley had translated this as something else entirely, adding it smoothly as another part to his puzzle.

Backing away from the attic, he eased his way quietly down the stairs and raced to Stanford's room, only to find it vacant. Giving a noise of exasperation, he went outside to find the car gone and the Mystery Cart as his last option. Hoping that it could support him the entire way, his slid into the seat and coaxed the cart into going as fast as it could towards town.

At some time in the night, they had both fallen asleep, sprawled out on the bed with the television still on. For the past couple of weeks Stanford and Carla had been meeting up regularly; going out to the diner for breakfast and illegally sneaking into movies, finishing late night dates in Carla's room and reminiscing about their younger days. With Carla's return and his still actively avoiding Bill Cipher, Stanford ended up spending a majority of his free time out of the Mystery Shack and with her. On this particular night they had gone back to Carla's motel room and fallen asleep after watching reruns of some ridiculous television show for a couple of hours. Neither found this out of place or awkward; they had known each other for so long and knew each other so well that they naturally settled back down into being used to the other's company.

Not bothering to knock, Stanley slammed the door open just as the sky outside was starting to lighten. A large part of his conscious paused in joy of finding his twin brother so content in Carla's company, far from the disinterest and grouchiness he displayed most of the time. But adrenaline was pumping through his veins and the momentum already built up forced his feet forward, forced his voice to cry out loudly.

"Ford! Come on, wake up!"

Pushing the door shut behind him with the tips of his fingers, Stanley strode across the room and stood over his snoring brother. On the other side of the bed Carla bolted upright, absently fixing the new flower held in her bangs that Stanford had given her and smoothing her blouse down as she looked at Stanley. Responding in panic, she shook the man beside her awake and gestured animatedly to his twin.

"Stanley, what's wrong?" she asked, jumping to the main point before Stanford could complain.

"Look," he answered stiffly and shoved his journal in front of the couple, opening it to his new notes.

Carla grimaced. "I can't read this. All the words are overlapping."

The older twin stared at the page for a moment, making out more than Carla had but with difficulty. "Yeah, Lee, what gives? Your writing is usually a lot better than this."

Huffing in exasperation, Stanley snatched his journal back and started in on the speech he had composed on the way there. "Its Bill and Dipper, the kid got tricked. We made a bargain with Bill that if we let him keep making deals he would give Dipper some of his demonic powers but he failed to mention that-"

"Stop. You can't keep following him around. He'll catch on eventually - if Cipher hasn't told him already. And you gotta let him learn on his own a bit. You've warned him enough; if he gets himself into trouble then he has to learn from it," Stanford deadpanned.

"But what if-"

He raised his voice. "And if he gets himself in too deep we'll help him out because that's what family is for. I did that for you, didn't I?"

Stanford laid back against his pillow and turned away from his twin, having said all that he wanted on the matter and fully intending to return to sleep. Carla's remaining alert bothered him a bit, though out of stubbornness he kept quiet.

"What else, Lee? Is Dipper in trouble?" she questioned, eyebrows furrowed. The former brunette jabbed Stanford with her elbow but was only met with an annoyed grunt.

"I think so. I followed them out to the woods..." Stanley quickly recounted the energy exchange that he had seen in a calmer tone, finding that part of the whole business mundane even though Carla was astonished by the magical scene. When he reached what he found to be the more interesting part his voice rose.

"...so Bill was telling him how the energy erased some of his humanity and reacted to his emotions - I have it written word for word in my journal if you want to see for yourself - and basically, you wouldn't believe this, but basically," Stanley paced the area in front of the bed, emphasizing his story with hand gestures, "the kid's a _half-demon_  now!"

A choked out "oh!" escaped Carla's lips while Stanford stiffened, though his twin did not notice this.

"How can you just lay there, Ford?! I'm not even to the second shocking part, though it looks like you don't care. Its typical of you, y'know, so absorbed in other things that you don't notice when your family is getting pulled in by the supernatural."

Kicking the blanket off of him and forcing himself to his feet, Stanford stopped his twin from continuing his rant. "Look, just because when I was younger I ignored your supernatural stuff a lot doesn't negate the fact that I worked with all of it for _thirty years_  to bring you back. I don't care that you weren't there to see it for yourself, it happened. Now quit your whining and read out of that damn journal of yours exactly what Cipher said."

Not waiting for his twin to respond, Stanford snatched the book back and did his best to make out every word of the slanted overlapping writing. When he got to the part of the account when the demon moved the stars Carla slipped out of bed and peered over his shoulder. Trying to keep his voice steady he began reading aloud so that she could be included.

" _Gideon is coming back_. Eurgh, that pest again? Whatever, doesn't matter." He turned the page expecting more information, a solution, but was met with blank whiteness and a frown. "This isn't it."

"No, its not," Stanley grimaced. "When I was leaving I found that Dipper was sharing his bed with Bill."

Shaking his head, Stanford perched on the edge of the bed. "So the kid's a half-demon now..."

"And Bill is seducing him! I'm not sure _why_  but it must be some sort of ploy. Dipper's young, at that age, maybe he thinks that he can make the kid do things for him in exchange for..."

"Don't be ridiculous. I doubt a demon would seduce a human for something. Cipher gets everything he wants through deals and Dipper isn't that stupid."

"So explain him being so touchy with Dipper then."

"I don't know." Stanford ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe its on Cipher. Demons do put emphasis on the seven sins, maybe the human body he has is encouraging lust. And you said _Cipher_ was the one who made the first move for all of the touchy stuff written down. I doubt its Dipper behind this."

"Really? Mabel told me he's willing to perform tasks for those he's interested in. You would notice that more if you just sucked it up and spent some time with him and Bill - the kid's always looking at him."

"No. I've had enough of that demon for one lifetime. Why are you so concerned about this anyway? Dipper's part-demon now! Its a bit more concerning!"

"We can't do anything about that; its too late. As Bill said, it would be difficult to overwrite his energy at this point, and it won't fade in time. He pulled one hell of a trick on Dipper, and his reasoning was too smooth for any of us to blame him for what happened - yet. But we _can_  try and stop Bill before he gets Dipper into any more trouble."

"So what do you suggest?"

"One of us has to talk to them. Dipper first, probably, see if he knows anything first. It'd be easier to get information out of him than Bill."

"And which one of us do you propose has this talk? He's really gonna know you spy on him now." Stanford shot his twin an annoyed look.

"Er, well, I haven't gotten-"

"I'll do it," Carla volunteered, earning expressions of incredulity from the brothers. "You two can come off as so creepy when it comes to this sorta stuff, admit it. I can talk Dipper, and since Cipher has stayed by his side so far, I can say I picked up on his body language. I'll ask if he likes Cipher and hint that I noticed him staring at the demon or something, he'll be a lot more willing to answer with me."

"This could work," Stanley nodded.

Stanford remained quiet for a moment, gently straightening the flower tangled in Carla's hair to buy time. Then, "Are you sure you're willing to do this? You'd have to be in the same room as Cipher, and he's not exactly fond of you."

"Yeah, I want to be the one to do it. I wanna meet Dipper and Mabel anyway so this will give me the perfect chance. I've only ever heard about them indirectly, I can't just keep avoiding it all, whether Cipher is there or not. I'll ask him how he feels, I'll do it."

* * *

"Ready to try this again, Gideon?" his dad asked, trying to sound cheery as he drove.

"Shut up, old man."

Bud Gleeful did as the nineteen year old told him to while Gideon turned back to staring out the window. At his feet was a bag of the clothes his parents had bought him for exorbitant amounts of money to wear within prison and a new set of handmade dolls fashioned after the Pines family. Taking out a comb he smoothed his white hair back and checked his appearance in the rear view mirror. He would not be showing up to Gravity Falls looking disorderly, but instead unfazed, as though his second stay in jail had had no effect on him.

When the car jerked to a halt in front of the Gleeful house Gideon immediately got out, throwing his bag at his father and making his way into the driver's seat.

"You can't drive, your license is-"

"Just take my bag in."

Leaving his father distraught on the driveway, he set his course for the Mystery Shack and drove over the speed limit without a second thought.

Morning was progressing when the teenager set off on his path and when Bill quietly slid out of Dipper's bed, careful not to wake the brunet up. The last thing he needed was to be questioned as to where he was going. Though, he was also aware that Dipper really did need rest after the day before and had subconsciously added that to why he should be mindful of the sleeping half-demon.

Pulling on a cream colored button down shirt and pale cerulean sweater, complete with black bow tie, he kept his eyes on Dipper to make sure that his breathing remained slow, that he slept still. He went downstairs to finish getting ready then slipped out of the shack, proud that he had earned the brunet's trust enough to be able to leave on his own without the risk of blood. Until he got outside he let his mind linger on this pride, though he pushed it into the back of his consciousness once he stepped out onto the porch.

The business he was planning today was something he considered good, but a part of him had the nagging feeling that it would taint his pride concerning Dipper if he let these thoughts intermingle.

Looking around he registered that both the car and Mystery Cart were missing - and therefore Stanford and Stanley must be out, too. Scouring his mind for further knowledge on this, he grimaced. He knew exactly where they were and found no delight in what they were discussing. In too much of a hurry to dwell on this and deciding that he would solve the issue later, the blond abandoned this trail of thought.

Bill had known about and planned for Gideon's return over the last few days, despite waiting until that morning to tell the twins. Since having to break off his deal with the white-haired boy the first time, he had been waiting for another chance to put him to good use. Gideon knew how to get his hands on things, which was just the skill Bill needed. On second thought he probably could have used Stanford for this exact thing, but Gideon was far easier to trick into making a deal with him.

Hell, he probably did not even have to trick the kid. Gideon would agree to anything he offered, and Bill knew precisely what he wanted, an offer he could not pass up.

A smile tugged at his lips when he heard the car up ahead, waiting impatiently as the wheels ripped dust and pebbles up from the ground. He waved his hands and stepped out into the road once the car came into sight, forcing Gideon to stop. Keeping his body in front of the car to make him stay, he strode closer to the hood.

"No, no hitchhikers!" Gideon screamed from the window, gesturing obscenely to try and make Bill move.

"What, Star, you don't recognize me?" he answered, not bothering to raise his voice. For a split second he made his pupils elongate into slits and his skin give off a golden sheen, triggering Gideon's memory immediately. He swallowed the resulting foul tasting blood thickly and returned to his normal state.

In his attic bedroom, Dipper sat up abruptly and went to wash out his mouth though he could find nothing to explain the disgusting taste.

Having caught Gideon's attention, Bill felt it was time to occupy the passenger seat. He clicked his seat belt tight around himself and looked at the teenager expectantly.

"What's with you? Shouldn't you be a triangle right now?" Gideon started, ignoring the demon's pointed look.

"Hey, I'm not opposed to other shapes. Like the human shape. Though, for the record, triangles are superior."

"Whatever. What do you want anyway?"

"I've come to say I can offer you what you want."

"Oh my, and what would that be?" Gideon looked at him through half-lidded eyes, smug.

"You want revenge on the Pines family. I can give you just that." Bill leaned towards him, grinning widely, leading the teenager to shift uneasily.

Gideon had met a lot of creepy people during his stays in prison, but Bill Cipher really won the eerie contest, even in human form. He tried not to show this opinion of his, forcing his expression to remain haughty.

"And why would I want to give up getting revenge on them? What if I wanted to do that by my lil' ol' lonesome?"

"You shouldn't. Unlike you I could get rid of one of them without consequence. You don't wanna go to jail a third time, do you?" Bill drawled, mimicking the tone of some character in one of the movies Stanford watched secretly.

"...Well, no. What do you mean _get ridda one of them_?" Gideon relaxed slightly, interest piqued.

"Exactly what it sounds like, kid. I'll make one of them disappear permanently, someone that would break the family to lose. Imagine it: one of them as good as dead and the rest of them devastated. You willing to make a deal?"

The white-haired boy nodded absently for a moment, conjuring up the image Bill had suggested to him contently, before snapping himself out of it. "Just you wait a minute, how do I know you'll follow through this time?"

"Call it an inside job; I'm staying in the Pines residence. I even got trust from a couple of them. And all I need from you is a design for a new portal. One that will be able to handle being connected to another realm without my having to use my powers. You have a knack of getting everything you want, surely you can buy your way into getting these plans for me."

Gideon hesitated. "That's it? Just some plans?"

"That's it."

"And you'll get rid of one of the Pines for me so I don't end up incarcerated again?"

"Precisely."

"You got a deal, Bill Cipher," he declared, holding his hand out for the demon to shake.

Bill leaned back in his seat, satisfied. "You have your ID on you."

"Yes? Why do you need-"

"Drive me to the store, Star."

Not bothering to argue against the command, Gideon turned the car back towards town and went into the first convenience store they came across for the demon. Handing over his ID, recently expired though his using his charm influenced the cashier to overlook this, he bought a couple of packs of cigarettes. They returned to where Gideon had parked previously, about a mile from the Mystery Shack, and Bill got out.

Perching on the hood of the car and waiting for the teenager to join him, the demon tipped a couple of cigarettes into his hand. He lit one and held it between his teeth, then offered Gideon the other once he had sat next to him.

"And ruin my complexion? My goodness, no," he declined harshly.

Bill shrugged and replaced the extra one, holding in the smoke as he did so. After a few seconds he exhaled the silver smoke, then coughed in result, his thin frame wracked by his body's response to the smoke. For the most part his assumed form was sturdy, and in some ways even stronger than normal, though it lacked in resilience in other parts.

"For all the fires I've started over the years," he grumbled once he was done coughing. "So you enjoy your stay in prison this time, kid?"

Following his released from prison the first time, Gideon had immediately returned to running his Tent of Telepathy. Since his father refused to leave Gravity Falls he was forced to draw in the same audiences he had before, though now they had some reservations against him. His propensity towards coming off as adorable won him acceptance back into the town for the most part, at least enough to rebuild his telepathic business and make it successful once more.

However, the minority - including the Pines family - that did not fall for him so easily watched him carefully. Towards the end of one summer when Dipper and Mabel were younger they caught Gideon upholding illegal deals and threatening people with blackmail to make his business grow again. An audience was needed for him to further his goals, but first he had to win over key citizens of the town again to endorse him.

Thus, after watching him, Dipper and Mabel had figured out that Gideon was unfairly pulling in supporters and Stanford reported him once more, using his knowledge in the laws that he had gained over years of breaking them.

"Goodness no. It was not _fair_. I had no problem doing underhanded business the first time around but then those darn Pines twins stopped me again. Couldn't even get to the good part of the plan," the teenager whined, crossing his arms.

"Hm." Bill took another drag of his cigarette, more successful this time around. He exhaled and closed his eyes.

"I had plans, Cipher, big plans. I could've ruled this town. These people are so dumb, I could get them to do anything before. Even the second time, I could've had them then, too."

"The third time?" the demon suggested, monotone.

"Good thinking, Bill Cipher. It was the Pines family that sent me to jail both times, but with your help I can get them out of the way. You remove one of them and the rest crumble, and then while they're struggling I can reestablish the Tent of Telepathy just however I gosh darn please. I can accomplish everything this time!" Gideon proclaimed, laughing to himself.

"Just don't forget our deal, kid. I'll come for the plans soon so be ready."

"What, you're leaving already?" the teenager got down from the hood of the car, sounding upset.

The demon pushed the end of the cigarette against the hood, putting it out and leaving a dark ring when he pulled away. Pushing himself to his feet, he regarded the boy indifferently. "Yep, I've said all I wanted to say and I have more pressing business at the Pines' residence right now. See ya, Star."

Taking out the iPod he had _borrowed_  from Dipper, he jammed the earbuds into his ears and hit play on "My Demons". Since first snatching it off of the brunet's desk, Bill had rarely let the small device out of his sight. Most days it stayed tucked in his pocket, as it was now, and he really had no intention of giving it back. He turned up the volume, refueled his pride in earning Dipper's trust, and followed the road up to the Mystery Shack.

A couple of hours before the demon started back towards the Mystery Shack, Dipper had crept into his sister's room.

"Mabel, you awake? Have you seen Bill?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few scenes (both extra and alternative) have been cut from Sigil that I would still like to expand upon, so I've remedied this by starting a [separate Tumblr](http://sigil-series.tumblr.com/) to post them on. There's more information on the about page. I'm hoping to get the first drabble up before posting the next update so feel free to check out the blog.


	13. 9 AM

Still stuck with a revolting taste in his mouth despite gargling mouth wash and water several times, Dipper sighed in defeat and padded back from the bathroom to the attic. Now more awake, he expected Bill to be waiting for him when he returned, but found this assumption proven wrong. He looked around, trying to figure out where the demon had gone.

Unwilling to leave his room just yet, he opened the closet door. A couple of days after Bill had gotten his new wardrobe, the brunet grew exasperated with the bags being left by the door and hung up the clothes himself. His own shirts were now shifted to the right, leaving the left side open for Bill's neon and pastel sweaters. Immediately his gaze fell on the plaid shirt that the demon had kept using as a nightshirt hanging where there had previously been something of Bill's, a dead giveaway that the blond had already started his day.

Making a noise of frustration, Dipper pulled his shirt from the hanger and moved it to his side of the closet for what felt like the nth time. For the most part Bill had been good about not touching Dipper's things - especially after the laptop incident that had triggered a good deal of anger and frustration from the brunet - but for reasons beyond his understanding this one plaid shirt always ended up among Bill's clothing. Not to mention the fact that he had not been allowed to use his own iPod in weeks with the demon having grown obsessed with the device.

He shook his head, forcing his annoyance with these acts from his thoughts and instead concentrating on where Bill had gone. Since first summoning the demon, they had almost never been apart. When they had been separated it was only because they were in different rooms, and even then for only short amounts of time. His always being shadowed had been incorporated fully into his daily life, a fact that he had grown used to despite constantly being bothered by his lack of privacy. He was used to waking up with the demon at his feet, either still reading avidly or asleep, his head thrown back against Dipper's bed and the iPod clutched in his hand. He was used to tripping over Bill and forcing him to get up so that they could begin the day.

But now the attic was void of any other existence besides his own.

He grimaced with the realization that he would have to readjust to relative isolation and that he should not feel lonely in the first place when this was supposed to be a change for the better. Getting dressed, he decided to go search the rest of the shack. When he had visited every corner of the building and scanned the driveway outside, he knocked on Mabel's door and went in quietly, unsure if she was still asleep.

"Mabel, you awake? Have you seen Bill?"

"Have you tried looking behind you?" she suggested, words slurring a bit in her half-consciousness.

Dipper rolled his eyes and crossed the room to open the curtains. "C'mon, Mabel, time to get up."

The brunette sat up and stretched, glancing at the clock. "9 AM?! I appreciate waking up at a decent time but we didn't even get to bed until 4. This is gonna take some Mabel Juice, for sure."

"Only 9? Huh." He gestured for his twin to scoot over and sat next to her on the bed. "I don't even know what woke me up, there was just this... horrible taste in my mouth. I can't describe it."

"Were you sick or...?"

"No, it was weird. Kinda tasted like blood - y'know, that iron-y taste - but there was something else. I don't know. But anyway, I haven't seen Bill anywhere. I'm gonna guess you haven't either?"

"Nope, but he's not allowed to be around me so, probably better to ask Grunkle Stan or Stanley," Mabel shrugged. She stood up and led her brother to the kitchen, busying herself with making her concoction meant to wake them up.

"They're both gone."

"Ooh you think Grunkle Stan is with Carla again?" Mabel chirped, smiling brightly. She had caught onto Stanford's constant slipping away a couple of days after Dipper found out, prompting her to ask and receive the answer as to why this was.

"Probably. He's always going out to meet her now." Dipper copped a seat at the kitchen table.

"I wish we could meet her already. Whenever I ask him to bring her home for dinner or something he just waves me off and tells me to mind my own business."

"Well that's rude. I think its because Bill lives with us now. When I asked him if we could meet her he told me that I had to get rid of Bill first," the brunet frowned. He absentmindedly took the glass of Mabel Juice offered to him and tipped a large portion of it into his mouth, freezing a second later. Forcing himself to swallow, he pushed the half emptied glass away and shuddered. "At least that other taste is out of my mouth now..."

"That's good to hear!" Mabel slid into the chair opposite from Dipper, her own glass in hand. "Now, tell me what happened yesterday. What did Bill do to you?"

"Oh, okay, so first he dragged me out into the middle of the forest..." The brunet proceeded to tell her every detail from the day before that he could remember, repeating himself and having to backtrack to add in more information every so often. He gestured animatedly at his forehead when describing Bill's third eye and stumbled over his words when trying to describe just how _painful_  the energy exchange had been. At the point where Bill had first pointed out how his new power manifested itself he held up his hand and concentrated on recreating it. With yellow flames flickering along his fingertips and around the bandages on his wrists, he displayed this new trick for Mabel, who responded with an astonished smile and wide eyes.

Keeping the golden fire alight for Mabel's amusement, he rushed through the technical parts of what the exchange had done to him then paused. After some delay he continued, choosing each word hesitantly.

"And then he, well he basically told me that I lost some of my humanity. Not much, apparently, but still, its the principle of things. I mean, he told me I was _lucky_  that I had been given these powers so easily but-"

"You are, Dipper, think about it! It wouldn't be much of a bargain if you weren't getting something great in return, right? But you did, you got all these cool new powers. Just look!" Mabel stood up and leaned across the table to grab Dipper's wrist, making him notice the yellow sheen still glowing steadily. "You can do that now, whatever its supposed to do! You weren't able to do that before."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Think of all the things you can learn how to do. Bill said you were basically free to learn whatever you wanted to, you can have unlimited access to everything magical." She paused to catch her breath and sink back onto her chair. A bright smile still painted her lips she ranted on, more dreamily as she went. "Can you imagine everything to be done with such power? You can knit and sew and put glitter on everything all at once, I bet. You can make this old shack so pretty. I could be like Molly Weasley with that sorta power!"

"Mabel, what?"

"So its settled. Since it sounds like I won't have much of a chance with all that higher-form-energy stuff, you'll learn to really hone in that magic of yours and help me with all of my crafts," the brunette asserted.

Dipper laughed lightly, his mood perking up with his sister's show of excitement. "You got it, Mabel."

"Now," she leaned back, growing calmer. "I doubt your story was finished."

"No, it wasn't." Dipper fell silent for a moment, trying to remember where he had left off before continuing. "Right, so, after he told me about losing some of my humanity, I asked him what this made me now. A half-demon. He literally told me I'm stuck in between demon and human, it almost sounds ridiculous."

"Oh, Dipper..." She tried to find the right words, her voice falling quite a bit in volume. "And there's no way to undo it?"

The brunet shook his head.

"Well, we'll figure it out! Maybe it won't be such a bad thing. Like those notes in _Lesser Key_. Maybe being a half-demon will even turn out to be a good thing, like enhance your life or something. Y'know, like how the notes add more information to the book, I guess. I mean, Bill did say you would be Pine Tree Plus when you came back."

"He said that? Huh, I don't know, perhaps you're right, Mabel. I mean, he told me that I would get all the benefits of demonic power without all the negative side effects like animal sacrifice or whatever he said. And I guess it really hasn't had much of an impact on my emotions. I don't notice any difference, anyway."

"Neither do I!"

"Guess we'll just have to see how this all turns out," he shrugged, visibly uncertain.

Not knowing what else to say, he returned to the recount of the previous day. He picked back up when Bill had carved the runes into his wrists, deciding to leave out his displays of fury against the demon and subsequent mourning. His tone lightened up considerably when he reached the part where he had realigned the stars making up the big dipper and afterwards skipped to Bill's history with Stanley.

"Wait, that can't be right. Bill lies a lot, anyway, but Stanley isn't bad," the brunette protested, eyebrows furrowed.

Though she did resemble Stanford more closely, she had grown fond of Stanley in recent years. He had consistently expressed interest when she spoke, even when he did not completely understand what she was referring to, and taught her skills for her scrap booking hobby such as calligraphy and book binding. Of course she had noticed his strange behavior brought on by Bill's joining them, but the demon was the cause of Stanley's past disappearance - or so she believed - so she justified the change and tried to give him space. It was a shock for her to hear that the older Pines was different than she had perceived him to be, leaving her desperate to dismiss the demon's accusations.

Dipper shook his head and shrugged. "He has been acting sorta weird lately. And Stanley didn't exactly tell us what happened when he was sent away."

"Because it was a traumatic experience and Bill coming here reminded him of it," Mabel counteracted in a brittle voice. "He probably thought he could handle it but couldn't after all."

"Maybe..."

"Bill's a liar, Dipper, but Stanley has been so great these last few years. He's so nice, and a lot like you! We should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Yeah." Dipper shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. Even with his twin's reassurance uncertainty was still strung through his mind, casting Stanley as a suspicious character despite his best efforts to forget what Bill had told him.

"Hey, how about you show me that fire trick again!" Mabel requested with forced cheeriness, aware of her brother's newly tainted feelings on the matter.

"Sure." He placed his wrist on the table, palm up, and conjured the golden flames forward once more. Watching his sister's eyes light up in joy over seeing the display and bat her hand through the lukewarm fire, he could not help but wear a small smile.

"So," she continued after a few seconds, "was there anymore to yesterday?"

Absentmindedly shifting the amount of energy that he doled out from his fingertips, he rushed through the demon advocating why he should be trusted and his breaking the _stay in my sight_  command - "which apparently he's decided to take advantage of considering he's _gone_!" - before cutting off the story abruptly. He looked away from his twin quickly, the fire extinguishing itself and a warm blush coloring his cheeks and ears.

"What? What happened, bro?" Mabel leaned forward.

The brunet buried his head in his hands and groaned. "I didn't get much of a chance to think about it yesterday but... he actually did it. He kissed me." His voice was lowered considerably but she was close enough to catch the syllables and make out the sentence.

A sound that was some mix of a gasp and squeal escaped her throat as she sat back and smiled. "I knew it! Well, I thought _you_ would before him, but I knew it! I guess it does make sense, though, the way he wears that shirt of yours and made you dye your hair too. I knew it!" she proclaimed loudly. "Tell me, what did you do?"

"Mabel... what are you going on about?" he finally choked out. The brunet withdrew his hands from his face in order to give her a questioning and slightly horrified look.

"C'mon, Dipper, even Bill has noticed you're always looking at him, he told me so, and-"

The end of her sentence was drowned out by Stanford opening the front door and greeting the twins. Carla stood next to him, her expression pleasant, while Stanley slipped past them and through the room on his way to the tourist shop. Closing the door behind them, the older twin addressed the younger Pines before following Stanley.

"Look, I gotta run the Mystery Shack. You two can keep Carla entertained. And keep Bill away from her... holy water might work."

Carla snorted and joined Dipper and Mabel at the table.

"Hi, I'm Mabel!" the brunette sang, gesturing to herself with a bright grin. "My likes include glitter and knowing that my Grunkle Stan is happy!"

"Its my pleasure to meet you, Mabel. You're just as cheery as Stan said you would be," Carla returned the smile. "I'm Carla and I like dancing and knowing that your Grunkle Stan is happy, too."

"I'm Dipper," the brunet added awkwardly.

"And he likes the supernatural and a certain demon!" his sister finished for him, earning a cautionary look in response.

"So, uh," Dipper broke in hurriedly. "I thought Stan didn't want you coming here with Bill living with us and all? Assuming you know who Bill is, I guess."

"Oh yeah, I've been acquainted with the triangle."

"He's not much of a triangle anymore," Mabel commented.

"Right, so I've heard. At least now he's under your control." She nodded, then grimaced. "Did Stan really tell you that? I appreciate his protectiveness but he really needs to back off a bit on all that. Cipher doesn't want anything to do with me anyway so its not like I'm in much danger."

"What made him change his mind so suddenly then?" Dipper pressed. "I mean, he's been so secretive I didn't think he'd ever let us meet you."

Even after the decades out of contact with Stanford and Stanley, Carla still retained a good deal of knowledge when it came to these sort of cover ups. Her answer was a lie, but she pushed any guilt aside with the knowledge that it would be for the better in the long run. "I told him I'd pay for him to put another advertisement for the Mystery Shack in the newspaper if I got to visit this old place again."

The twins nodded seriously, with Mabel adding, "Yep, that's our Grunkle Stan."

Carla glanced around quickly. "So where is Cipher? With how much Stan complains about him, I figured I'd have to put up with him the moment I stepped through the door."

"Actually, we don't know where he is right now," the brunet responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, perhaps we should go wait for him. If I've learned anything about him its that he's always up to something." Carla stood up and led them out the front door to sit on the porch couch.

"How much do you know about him anyway?"

"Back before Lee disappeared, when he was dealing with Cipher, I heard everything he was willing to share with us. And then I had Stan always complaining about how much Cipher was influencing Lee on top of that. So, quite a bit, not as much as Lee or you two maybe, but enough." She paused before stated her opinion, careful of her word choice. "I doubt he's as bad as some other entities, but I feel a lot more at ease with that sigil of yours keeping him under your control."

"Its hard to believe that Bill isn't a very good person when he's been so nice in those notes he gives me," Mabel chimed in, her tone fairly sorrowful.

Carla hesitated, then did her best to appear positive once more. "He's a demon, but he does stick to his deals, I'll give him that. But if Lee says it'll be alright, I wouldn't worry too much about it."

"Yeah, Mabel, he's done everything I've told him to so far. We got this," Dipper offered his twin a comforting smile.

The brunette brightened visibly at this. "Good! Because I'm still happy that I was right!"

"Mabel!"

Before she could respond Carla quietly uttered an "oh" and stood up, making her way from the porch. Mabel moved to follow her but instead stopped at one of the wooden posts, watching as the older woman reached the edge of the forest, stooped to pick something up, and returned. Halting at the first step, she held out a small white flower and deftly strung it into Mabel's bangs around the same spot where she always wore her own.

"There, now we match!"

Mabel laughed lightly and clasped Carla's hand, leading her back to the couch. The mood of the trio now reset to be much more lighthearted and cheerful, Carla began telling the twins of her dancing days back in Glass Shard Beach, to which Mabel responded with the tale of the dance off she had when she was twelve. They exchanged more than a few stories of parties they had gone to while Dipper listened contently, not having much to add himself but still appreciating the conversation.

"You know," Carla changed the subject after finishing another recount of how she and Stanford had won a dance competition years before. At this point she was not fond of the idea of this discussion, but there was no way she would incite a rant from Stanley because she came back empty handed. "I wasn't exactly thrilled about Cipher being here; I'm glad he seems to have taken off for the day."

"He's not that bad," Dipper counteracted, voice casual. "I mean, he's annoying, but so far he's not messed up anything, and what he has broken he's also fixed. For the most part, anyway. He's also a lot more pleasant now that he can't make screaming heads and stuff appear."

"See, I knew it!" Mabel echoed her previous statement just as energetically.

"Hm, Mabel introduced you as liking a _certain demon_  and now this?" She smiled teasingly and elbowed Mabel. "Looks like Dipper has a crush on Cipher."

"That's what I've been thinking for quite some time now. And according to Dipper, his feelings are requited," the brunette agreed, putting on a matter-of-fact air.

"Eurgh, will you two stop gossiping about me? For starters, I can hear you. Secondly, why would I like Bill romantically? I'm perfectly sane, thank you, I know quite well that demons are bad news. The only reason I stuck up for him is because I've had to practically babysit him for the past few weeks. Y'know, I'm glad he's gone, too, its giving me a day off from his being irritating." Dipper crossed his arms and slumped back against the couch, averting his eyes from the women.

Mabel and Carla responded with a snicker, though Dipper ignored them. Figuring that they would get nothing more out of him, they went back to telling stories. The older woman felt some relief; at least she had gotten that out of the way, could now tell Stanley that the situation seemed more mutual than anything else.

A few minutes after the conversation had turned back to more reminiscent stories, the brunet happened to glance up and noticed Bill walking briskly up the road towards the Mystery Shack.

"Where have you been?" Dipper asked, jumping up from the porch couch and skipping down the stairs when the demon approached.

Bill held up his opened box of cigarettes. "I went to go get these but they wanted an ID so I had to go and find someone to make an illegal card for me but they wouldn't accept gold - they wanted cash immediately or something - so I went to see where I could sell gold, which led me to some third rate pawn shop but the guy offered me way too low of a price so-"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Just next time you can ask me for money or whatever," the brunet interrupted, holding his palms up. He peered at the thin box and grimaced. "What do you want those for anyway?"

"I always see humans smoking these things and they always appear to be so cool on TV shows. So, do I look like a _bad boy_ , Pine Tree?" Bill plucked a cigarette out of the box and held it in between his fingers, offering Dipper one with a smirk. "You want one?"

"No way, those are bad for you."

"Tch, that's very undemonlike of you. You'll come around. In fact..."

His expression lit up as an idea occurred to him. Quickly lighting the cigarette and holding it in between his lips for a moment, he tugged Dipper closer with his free hand. He pulled the stick away from his mouth so that he could kiss the brunet, open-mouthed. Having been caught in the kiss at the same instance that he was about to tell Bill to let him go, Dipper's lips were already parted when the blond breathed out the smoke he had held. Immediately coughing in response to having been forced to breathe in the smoke, Dipper pushed Bill back roughly and glared at him.

"Bill," he yelped once he had caught his breath, voice strained. "We're gonna have a talk about this."

Digging his fingernails into the demon's collar and ignoring the protests about stretching out the pastel sweater, he dragged Bill after him. He paused briefly to apologize to Mabel and Carla for having interrupted their conversation, then continued to the attic, slamming the door behind them.

"Kid, are you alright?" the demon questioned, prying Dipper's hands from his sweater.

"No! Can you _not_  do that again? I already woke up with this horrible taste in my mouth and now you have to worsen everything with that stunt of yours?"

"Horrible taste? What-"

"And did you have to do that in front of Mabel and Carla? I already had them accusing me of liking you, I don't need you reinforcing that assumption! Actually, did you have to do that at all?"

"But in the romcoms..."

"Life isn't a romantic comedy, Bill. I know you don't know much about humanity and emotions, but I'd rather you keep being a masochistic psychopath than trying things you saw in movies. Mostly because, and listen closely, _I don't like you_."

The half-demon was leaning forward, clearly exasperated, causing Bill to step back. The blond swallowed his wrath, instead nodding and commenting bitterly, "You could've told me that yesterday."

Dipper stiffened a bit at the other's argument, quickly looking away. "Whatever. Just, when I tell you to stop doing something, will you actually listen from now on? I'm gonna go hang out with Carla more now."

Turning away, he left the attic and Bill frozen in place, a mixture of spite and hurt painted on the demon's face.


	14. Absent

Sliding out a new box of cigarettes from the pocket of his discarded jeans, Bill silently pushed himself to his feet and exited the attic. The sun was barely rising when he had gotten up, making him wary of every step he took on the creaky staircase so that he would not be waking anyone up. Clad in the plaid shirt he had reclaimed from Dipper and boxers, the demon continued out the front door to sit on the porch steps.

It was getting to be a daily occurrence, and his roommate never noticed. 4, 5 AM, he would go out to the porch with cigarette box in hand. On average he would hurriedly burn his way through three or four sticks, then tip a thin blade out of the box for the _fun_  part. Ensure the sparks die out, throw away the finished cigarettes, clean off the blade. The next day, repeat.

It was getting to be an annoyance for the Pines family. For the most part it fell on Dipper to get the new packs for Bill, and he always complied because he did not know how to get around it. Of all the habits he had expected the demon to have, smoking was not exactly high up on the list. It seemed too mundane for the most powerful dream demon, but Bill kept citing the same reason: he saw some man do it in an old movie and wanted to emulate the image. Besides, he was immortal, smoking could not possibly have a negative effect on his body. That did very little to convince Dipper to go out at random hours of the day for one thing so Bill quickly turned to bribery.

"If you take me just this time I'll let you have your iPod back - I won't try kissing you anymore - I'll help you defeat Star if he tries anything again."

The iPod was returned to him, though the demon still used it every night - Bill actually held true to his second bargain and had not touched the brunet since the first day he had tried smoking - the latter promise had yet to be proven.

What he was offered seemed worth it for a quick trip to town. Not to mention that when he would try to decline the demon would respond by pursuing an agreement for the rest of the day, mostly by a mixture of mock offense and subtle manipulation. When he could, the half-demon would agree, and when he was too busy he would immediately redirect to Stanford.

Stanford agreed because Bill would reluctantly hand gold he had hidden over the centuries to him. Being paid far more than what a pack of cigarettes cost was worth it, though his hatred for the blond was extended enough for him to be relieved that Dipper ran the errand the majority of the time.

It was getting to be a daily occurrence, a constant cycle since Gideon bought him his first box a few weeks previously. Midsummer was upon them, featuring a string of days where Bill only worsened his addiction.

Leaning against the porch post, the blond finished a third cigarette and went to shake out the blade inside the box.

His second addiction was less costly, easier to hide under sweater sleeves and button down shirts, contained only within fading scars and a hidden blade and a fleeting sense of relief. It had gone hand in hand with his smoking, his way of self-destructing without doing irreversible damage. Because he was a masochist. Because he was expelled from the mindscape, a constant source of energy, and he was gaining the unwanted ability to perceive how stressful it really was.

Holding the blade between his fingers, he rolled up his shirt sleeves to expose the scars and fresher cuts marking his arms. Some were random small nicks, though most of the raised lines contributed to some rune or sigil. His wrists sported the same symbols that he had given Dipper, though while the brunet's wounds had healed and were now noticeable scars, Bill kept reopening his. A few others were marked along his arms, runes to help him retain what energy he had left, drawn into the flesh over and over.

Grimacing with the knowledge that none of these would ever permanently solve the problem, his fingers deftly undid the shirt's buttons. In wider jerky slashes, he had drawn his own sigil on his chest. It had taken him several early mornings to map out the wheel precisely, which showed in the thinner cuts along the edges serving as an outline. Demonic sigils were meant to call their respective owners into the physical realm, an existence Bill did not have energy compatible with, so he did this as a temporary fix: it would give him extra time before he became too desperate for another source.

Holding the plaid material away from the blade with his elbows, the blond expanded the slender borders of the wheel. He ignored the blood that beaded along the lines and then trickled down his skin as the blade bit deeper into his flesh. The stinging that accompanied the act did not bother him; quite the opposite, he would smile in satisfaction with each new gash. The sun was climbing higher up to meet the chorus of nearby songbirds when he finally pulled away from the sigil and wiped the silver metal off on his boxers absentmindedly.

Not in immediate possession of bandages, he buttoned the shirt back up carefully and thereafter constantly readjusted the fabric so that the blood would not stain it. The bleeding always stopped eventually, and he would clean up the red that coated his chest shortly. Blade stashed neatly back into the cigarette box, he stood up and reentered the shack with the intentions of fetching a change of clothes from the attic and taking a shower.

"I still say he had his chance at the cotillion."

Bill walked into the living room to find Stanford sitting in the armchair, television switched on to a rerun of _The Duchess Approves_. The older man was slumped in his chair, arms crossed and a scowl evident on his face. Recognizing the black and white scene on screen as being the climax of the film, the demon silently stopped to watch the conflict unfold. With hesitation he moved to sit on the ground by the chair, figuring that Stanford would not protest his joining him if he deliberately placed himself into a more submissive position.

" _Duchess, how could you marry him when I have loved you all along?_ "

Stanford groaned at the scene, ignoring the demon that hissed in irritation with him.

From the light pouring in through the cracks of the blinds Bill knew Dipper would wake up soon and start his shift in the gift shop afterwards. Usually the demon was running on schedule, returning to his spot on the floor in front of the bed and replacing the iPod on the man's nightstand minutes before he woke up.

Today, however, he happened to be late. The brunet would find an empty room, a mildly surprising event since Bill rarely left his side when he was awake despite being allowed to wander as he pleased.

They had never discussed the breaking of Dipper's _stay in my sight_  command, though for a few days afterward Bill felt rather paranoid whenever he did leave the brunet's side, recoiling from the thought of having to put up with the disgusting taste of his darker blood. And it was more than that: he had grown accustomed to constantly following the half-demon, both out of enjoying him as a person and instinctively feeling better, safer, with the one who had called him into physical existence and enabled him to assume his current form. Dipper had been serving both as a master and a guide for him. Though he would never admit that.

"This movie always goes too fast," Stanford sighed when the final scene began.

Bill nodded, mechanically keeping the shirt from the blood that still fell away from his deeper lacerations to meet the waistband of his boxers. Continuously having to alter his position for this matter was annoying, though the temporary assistance it gave him was always worth it.

The end credits were crawling up the screen when the front door slammed shut behind Stanley. His mouth was tugged down into an austere frown and his hand kept straying to the full inner pocket of his worn coat. Stanford barely looked up, the fact that his twin frequently staying out all night to chase down the supernatural being old news to him. As the younger brother's boots fell heavily against the floor, Bill sat perfectly still, eyes alight to indicate that he knew well what was coming.

This knowledge, however, was completely unwelcome. Even if it _did_  play into his plans.

Echoing footsteps dying away, Stanley halted just behind the armchair when he noticed the demon. In one fluent move he lunged forward, wrapped his fingers around the plaid shirt collar, and yanked Bill to his feet. Trying to stifle his yelp in result of being choked, the blond's hands flew to the lapels of the shirt in an attempt to regain some breathing room. In response Stanley wrenched the fabric even tighter into his grasp, drawing the demon closer to him in the process.

Stanford remained seated, sighing when a movie he did not like very well started.

"Don't do that! This isn't mine," Bill protested, undoing the top button of the shirt.

Stanley snorted, not relenting but instead dragging him towards the hall. The demon kept one hand at his collar in hopes of alleviating the tension placed on the material while the other kept the rest the shirt from meeting his wounds. He very well remembered Dipper getting upset the last time he had ruined one of his shirts and he had been so careful to not ruin this one.

"What is with you and Pine Tree stretching the collars out? Have you no decency?" he tried again.

"That's what you're worried about?" the man commented under his breath.

Kicking his bedroom door open, he shoved Bill through the door before entering himself and locked it behind them. He gestured for the demon to take a seat on an office chair he had in the room and switched on his desk lamp since the drawn curtains dimmed their surroundings. While Bill picked himself up off the floor after being pushed too roughly and tripping then clambered up onto the chair, Stanley pulled a vial from his inner pocket. The jar was made of glass, thin but long so there was undoubtedly a larger quantity of clear liquid than it seemed like.

"Just a little precaution," Stanley joked, opening the vial. He snatched up a spray bottle he had gotten for this purpose and tipped the liquid into it. "And don't worry, I can always get more."

Immediately recognizing the substance for what it was, Bill peered around the room in search of an escape without running into the author. When he found no realistic routes, the demon closed his eyes to hide the glow and searched the future frantically. _Would Glasses really do that to me?_  

A hand was laid on his shoulder, thrashing him after a second and only pulling away when Bill opened his eyes. Stanley was leaning in closely, close enough that the demon could feel the man's warm breath on his neck, his expression stern.

"I know what you're doing. Cut it out."

"But you said I could-"

"Not now. Not when that ability of yours can give you too much of an advantage." Stanley turned away momentarily to screw the lid back onto the spray bottle. When he stepped back in front of Bill he positioned the bottle to face the demon, finger on the trigger, and smiled in amusement. "You know what this is, huh?"

"Holy water," Bill hissed back in answer. He pressed his back against the chair and scowled at the author.

"That's right!" Stanley practically sang. "And I'll be more than happy to see what it does to you if you don't cooperate."

"What do you want?"

"Answers."

"Can't help you with that if you won't give me questions, Glasses."

Stanley gave him a withering look. "I'd also like _honest_  answers. Think you can handle that?"

"Depends on the subject matter. For example, if you would like exact coordinates to where the lost city of Atlantis is I could probably divulge that sorta information, or perhaps what really happened at Roswell then-"

"Stop. That stuff is trivial."

"Then what do you wanna know?"

"Your plans."

"Oh! Well, I was gonna take a shower then go to work with Pine Tree. I just checked out some new library books so I'm all set!"

"Enough!" Stanley stepped closer, ready to pull the trigger on the spray bottle. "You know damn well what I mean."

"Elaborate."

Growling in frustration, the author leaned over the armchair. He propped himself up by placing one hand on an armrest and kept the bottle trained on Bill with the other. "Your _plans_. I know you didn't join us out of your own volition, but you've obviously been setting up for something since you gave Dipper his demonic powers. I don't care what Carla says - you've been seducing him."

Bill raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Those years away sure took a toll on you, didn't they? Or no, on second thought, you were this crazy before you left."

"Me? The only time I was crazy was when I trusted you."

"You're the one who broke the deal," the demon chirped.

"I had to. You were gonna destroy everything. Just like you're probably plotting on doing now."

"Gimme some credit. I've grown to like Pine Tree and Shooting Star. At least they've been nicer to me than you and Fez have been."

"I've barely been around you lately."

"Because you've been busy spying on me and Pine Tree instead. Shows how much you trust your own grand-nephew."

Stanley shook his head. "I trust him. _You're_  the one that makes me paranoid. You're manipulating him, seducing him. Why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do. I saw you kiss him in the woods. And Carla told me you did it again the very next day."

Carla had stayed for dinner the first time she met the younger Pines twins at the insistence of Mabel, during which Stanley had waited impatiently. The dinner conversation had been too mundane for him in relation to the information he sought, but he kept calm and quiet anyway - Mabel was clearly excited about meeting Carla and he would not interrupt that. When the visit was over and a promise for future meetings made, Stanford and Carla went out to the car with Stanley trailing them. Leaning over the open passenger side window to talk to a tired Carla was when he learned the brief results she had volunteered to fetch.

Though, in the end, he chose not to believe them.

"Wow, Glasses, spying on your nephew kiss someone? What a creep!"

"Tell me what you're planning."

"With Pine Tree?" Bill took Stanley's silence as a yes. "Sorry, no information unless I get something in return."

"You're making a deal with me?" the author asked slowly. He had not exactly expected that considering he had not known the demon to make a deal with someone more than once.

"Yes, I'll offer you a deal. I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Including whether you're planning on harming or seducing or whatever Dipper?"

"Whatever you want, Glasses."

Stanley's expression hardened, suspicious. "And what do you want in return?"

Bill rolled up the sleeves of the plaid shirt and unbuttoned it to reveal the sigil and runes covering him. Much of the blood that had spilled from the cuts he had made earlier was now dry, leaving the carved wheel discernible but messy. Several rivulets had stained his stomach and tinted the fabric at the upper edge of his boxers a deep red. The demon barely noticed the blood loss he had caused, his body having been developed to be strong enough to handle the gashes efficiently.

"See all these cuts?" Bill held his arms out, flipping his hands to have his palms facing the ceiling then down again.

The author nodded, disgust adding itself to his expression.

"There are a couple of reasons why I do this - and you're gonna help me solve one of them. Everything has a different type of energy, a different tier on the pyramid, that requires different conditions. Plants thrive on a simple basis - sunlight, water, and some space makes up most of what they need to survive. They require very little energy so they require only a few things. Animals require a bit more, they need food and shelter, companionship and mates. On the pyramid that is _nothing_.

"Humans tend to be more complex. A smart human will pursue self-fulfillment, nirvana, heaven, whatever you want to call it. They will soak up every bit of what the lower tiers need: food, water, shelter, oxygen, what have you. They will seek companionship and mates, ensure their survival. But they also seek morality, spirituality, balance, a sense of peace with themselves and the universe - either by fitting themselves into it or conquering it. They will look up to the gods and spirits that they perceive and endeavor to please them physically and spiritually. They will justify and originate their actions through their morality and beliefs: I took this land because of manifest destiny, I killed these people for the good of my nation.

"Do you understand? Humans require more to thrive, to feed their energy, to keep conquering. To uncover the tangled mysteries of a certain town.

"Well, consider plants, animals, and humans on the bottom three rungs of the energy pyramid. Demons are on the one hundredth. The food you stuff in your mouths, the air you breathe, the consistent eight hours of sleep, all of that does nothing for me. It keeps this human form running, but what about _me_? My energy is still more advanced than yours, even if I can't use all of it. How else could I conjure fire? See everything? Know everything? I don't function on nothing, though you and Pine Tree sure like testing the limits anyway.

"I am a being of pure energy, and that energy comes from the mindscape, my domain. I'm a dream demon, I was designed to function in the mindscape and peoples' dreams. But now I've been cut off indefinitely, stuck in an alternate reality where what I need is not provided. All these runes, they're meant to save what energy from my last access to the mindscape I still possess, keep me from losing anymore. But that's all they do, hang onto what I have. The sigil I have is my last remedy, a temporary fix, but I'm running out of time anyway. Its supposed to call me further into the physical realm, ground me, make me less dependent on the mindscape and more so on this realm.

"You see? I need more energy that is actually compatible with my type, with the tier that I hold on the pyramid. I can't go to the mindscape but I need to sustain all these abilities I still have somehow. So you'll perform a sacrifice for me, transfer the power blood and death provides over to me. Pine Tree did it for me before to give me enough energy to make this body, but I need another to keep it functioning."

He had failed to mention a few things. He never revealed the other reasons for the cuts along his body, of the stress and weariness that plagued him. He did not add that in addition to the sigil, staying beside Dipper also kept him grounded in the physical world - because the brunet was the one that had called him, still wore his sigil, still gave him commands. Stanley was already too close as far as Bill was concerned.

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"Human. It'll last me longer."

"So you want me to kill someone because you absolutely _need_  all of your demonic perks?" Stanley scoffed.

"You're the one who convinced Pine Tree to summon me. Now you're gonna see to it that I stay healthy. Besides, didn't you want that information? To know for certain what I have planned for your nephew?"

"... fine. You have a deal, Bill."

The blond grinned and offered his hand, which Stanley shook unhappily.

"There. Now, since you have to give me information: what tier did you place Dipper on exactly?" the author questioned.

He was growing more worried about Dipper's new half-demon status after that requirement talk of Bill's. Maybe Stanford had been right, maybe that was the part to be more concerned about. After thinking it over briefly he shook his head, pushing the worry away. With this deal he could now try and fix it anyway.

"He's in between human and demon so you figure it out. He'll come to having to fulfill the new requirements he's gained soon enough."

"What requirements? Does he know about this?"

"Whoa there, Glasses! You have yet to complete your part of the deal. I'll answer your questions after you give me what I want. These runes will only work for so much longer and in the meantime I don't want Pine Tree find out about my cuts. So, now, now is a good time to hold up your end of the deal."

"No, you will answer me and I'll get to your sacrifice in time." Stanley aimed the spray bottle back at Bill, his hand having dropped during the demon's speech, though his finger remained on the trigger.

"I _need_  the energy now!" He tensed, sitting up straighter and baring his teeth at Stanley.

"This is only delaying the sacrifice." The author paused, thinking, before adding, "I'll probably do it sometime next month."

"No. _Now_." Bill's eyes flashed blue, dark blood streaming into his mouth simultaneously. "You broke our deal last time but I won't let that happen again!"

Hand steady, Stanley aimed the spray bottle directly at the demon's face and pulled the trigger a couple of times. Bill sprang to his feet and attempted to back away, though he was already cornered. When the liquid hit him he buried his face in his hands, trying to stifle the cry of pain caused by the sensation of burning rippling through the flesh that had been sprayed. After a few moments he lifted his head to find that the affects of the holy water were physically evident: a smattering of black skin now replaced the golden tan where the holy water had touched him. A light dusting of dark freckles were spread across his nose and one side of his face while the other was now mostly painted black. Wide puddles of withered skin stretched across his left cheek then continued down in streams from the water dripping along his chin and neck.

A pause. Bill was frozen in place, willing the piercing pain away while the author watched contently.

In no way recovered, he raced toward Stanley, his eyes glowing blue once more. He placed his hands on the author's shoulders and forced him to his knees harshly, flames lapping at his fingertips as he did so. The man shivered slightly under his grip, but he ignored it.

"Why did you do that?" His voice had regained its echo faintly.

Plucking up his courage, Stanley met Bill's gaze and answered: "Because you'll fulfill your side of the deal first."

"Y'know what? Fine. You want answers so badly, lemme send you somewhere where you can learn all you want." The blond grinned widely, exposing teeth a bit more sharpened in his power drenched state.

"And where would that be?" He showed no fear - he had survived this once before - though he dreaded the very real possibility of his being sent away for another few decades.

"Well, since your time in the alternate dimension seems to have done nothing for you, how about something more _Bill Cipher_  oriented? Hopefully my mindscape will finally satisfy your demand for knowledge."

The author opened his mouth to speak but was given no time to do so. Bill was bending over him, leaning in and forcing Stanley to meet his gaze. In place of the brilliant blue that had lit up his eyes seconds before was a sharp black, his pupils shifting to a lighter color and elongating. At his fingertips and edging the rest of his flesh was bright red fire while blinding white energy extended beyond that. Though the world around them still retained its color, Bill had tapped into his more powerful abilities, had manifested his rage.

Fingernails digging into the man's shoulders, Bill urged the flames to surge forward and thinly outline the figure on his knees before him. The white and red energy darkened to black when it touched Stanley's flesh and quickly shot across his body in patterns reminiscent of spiderwebs though the substance itself more closely resembled the inky tendons of some Lovecraftian monster. From his forehead, the demon's third eye appeared, once more a pale gold and lacking an eyelid, and watched Stanley blankly above his other two now completely black eyes.

Feeling the energy restraining him, Stanley squirmed and tried to tear through it futilely. The demon did not have much power left but what he did have he was investing into ridding the physical realm of Stanley. Dark tendrils continued to weave their way around his body, forming an impenetrable cloth under Bill's red and white hands then yawning upward along the man's neck.

Hollow of his collarbone, Adam's apple, chin. Stanley raised his head but refused to give the demon the satisfaction of his calling out, refused to fuel the amused smirk lined with further sharpened teeth and stained in blood. When the energy clamped down on his mouth he switched to breathing through his nose, and it was only now that terror tinted his expression. Last time this had happened Bill had pushed him through the portal, made it quick, but now he was forced to sit still for several moments as his form was consumed and the demon's body visibly decayed in front of him. This time was a slow nightmare.

Nape of his neck, temples, eyes. The energy curled into his grey hair and hung down thickly over his forehead. Before he could be entirely covered the demon leaned closer to him, eyes open wide.

"See what I do to make you happy, Glasses."

Stanley tried to respond angrily but his voice was muffled. He closed his eyes and leaned into the energy encompassing him as the last bit of his flesh disappeared from sight. Weariness overcame him, a sense of defeat, though he tried to keep a level head even as he felt his very existence being tugged at. There was a pause before the dark energy collapsed in on itself as there was no longer a physical form to give it shape.

Bill stood frozen for a long moment, his arms still extended and breathing heavily. Tentacles of dark energy streamed from the aura surrounding him and collected themselves together in a puddle where Stanley had just knelt. Although the world had remained in color, the demon's body was still horrifically altered.

Chest continuing to heave as if oxygen would cure him, he sank to his knees in exhaustion.

Slowly the black tendrils rescinded back into his aura, shifting to white and red as they rejoined the rest of his energy. The flames licking his flesh thickened with the reclaimed power, though it was nothing compared to what he had had when fully functional. Other than the tendrils being recalled, nothing else changed. His eyes stared at the floor blankly, painted an inky black, while the third eye glowed pale gold as it did when Bill had first been called into the physical realm. Though his smirk had fallen into a tired frown, the rows of pointy jagged teeth remained and dark blood spilled from his lips and trailed down his chin. Previously golden hair was now considerably dimmer, contrasting greatly with his bangs dyed blue which had kept its color through the ordeal.

Under the inner red energy, Bill's skin was now a pale grey, except for the areas sprayed with the holy water. Even with his body being worn thin after casting Stanley away, the flesh that had been turned black continued to cause him immense pain. Gathering what little usable power that he had left into his palm, the demon shifted the red and white into a dull blue and pressed his hand to the wounds left by the holy water. The power transferred over to the flesh, tinting it blue and soothing the pain to provide Bill with a break from it.

Save for the blue energy set against his withered skin, the demon called back his aura, making the brilliant red and white power vanish within a matter of seconds. Too much energy had been lost during this, he had broken Dipper's command of no magic for too long, leaving Bill's body to regress, to resemble his unfinished form more closely.

There was nothing left to fix it.

Sighing, he looked down at the wounds covering his arms and chest to find them staining Dipper's plaid shirt in blood. His gashes had reopened themselves with his body being under such intense stress, though now they exposed the darker blood his veins pumped when he disobeyed Dipper. Not wanting to ruin the shirt any further, he gently pushed the fabric away from his cuts.

And then, exhausted, he fell back against the floor, instantly unconscious.

* * *

 

Dipper woke up when his phone's alarm went off a few hours after the sun first began to rise. He stretched, scooted to the end of the bed so that he would not trip over Bill, and stood up. Rubbing his eyes blearily, he pulled one of his plaid shirts off of its hanger and picked up a pair of jeans he had left on the floor, then padded down to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

When he returned to the attic the brunet was more awake, allowing him to register the fact that Bill was absent. The demon's jeans were still discarded by the nightstand and the plaid shirt he adamantly stole again and again from Dipper was not hanging in the closet, but the new box of cigarettes was gone. That was the only clue he really needed.

Having come to expect his iPod being replaced onto his nightstand each morning, Dipper went to fetch it only to find it missing. With a frown he glanced around the room, getting ready to blame Bill for breaking a previous bargain, but ended up finding it placed on a book left open on the floor before he could get too irritated. He shoved the earbuds into his ears and turned it on to find it left paused on an _I Fight Dragons_ song - a band Bill had previously asserted that he did not like, though now the brunet knew that to be a lie. Hitting the play button, he carried on with his routine.

After the morning following his becoming a half-demon Dipper had not woken up to find his room empty again - until today, that is. Bill was always there waiting for him in front of his bed, clad in Dipper's plaid shirt. Despite his repeatedly replacing the shirt on his side of the closet, he always found the same article of clothing back on Bill's body the following night. He regarded the whole business as an annoyance, though the demon treated it more as a game.

Since the day of the energy exchange, Dipper had also offered Bill a better sleeping arrangement. He was still disgruntled with the blond for kissing him, but he had not been touched or directly exposed to his smoking after that. The demon had been careful enough to develop a boundary, to keep his distance, in response to Dipper telling him to back off. And maybe Bill had been right, maybe he _had_  sent mixed signals when he failed to push the demon away back in the forest during the first kiss. Bill _was_  a demon - how was he supposed to know or care about proper human etiquette?

So Dipper had told Bill that if he wanted he could start sleeping on the couch, or maybe they could get an extra bed for him. But the blond refused, choosing to remain in his post in front of Dipper's bed. When asked why, he had briefly explain that he did not need sleep in the first place, he only did so to conserve his energy.

"Why should I go to great lengths to support something I don't even need?"

A bit reluctantly, Dipper had agreed and dropped the matter.

Setting aside his iPod, he went downstairs to start his day. He found Stanford in the living room, turning off the television and grumbling under his breath.

"Grunkle Stan? Something wrong?" Dipper asked curiously, pausing behind his armchair.

"Yeah. One of my favorite movies ended and the one they began afterwards is unbearable. No way am I sitting through it," the older man answered in a disgruntled tone.

Shrugging, Dipper joined his twin in the kitchen for breakfast. She chirped a good morning and pushed a bowl of cereal over to him at the table. Fetching her own bowl, she copped the chair across from his and absentmindedly straightened the white flower strung in her hair.

Carla had visited the Mystery Shack multiple times during the previous weeks, inspiring Mabel to continue wearing a flower in her hair like the older woman did. The two got along perfectly well, having found much in common, and were even planning on hosting a party at the shack. Their plans featured a dance off, unsurprisingly, and both of them were looking forward to it. Since beginning their plans Carla had been insisting that Stanford be her dance partner - to which he vehemently denied - while Mabel had yet to decide on whether or not she would get a dance partner at all.

"Is Carla coming over for dinner again?" Dipper asked in between mouthfuls of cereal.

"Hm, I don't know. I'll ask Grunkle Stan later!" his twin chirped, brightening considerably at the mention of the family friend. "Its been fun having her around!"

"Oh, really? I didn't think you even liked her!"

Mabel snorted and rolled her eyes at the sarcasm. "Our party plans have been going really well. We're gonna have decorations _everywhere_ , just imagine all the glitter and color we can use! You're gonna help, right bro?"

"In anyway I can."

"Good!"

The brunette launched into rattling off her ideas for the party and retelling some stories of Carla's that Dipper had already heard while they finished breakfast and opened the Mystery Shack for the day. As of yet Bill had not joined them, though he tried not to dwell on it. The demon was probably just outside somewhere smoking and keeping that awful stench of smoke away from them. Stanley had not been seen yet either, but this was normal considering the older man's skewed sleeping schedule.

"Mabel, you'll be leading tours today in place of Lee."

Unlike his twin, Stanford did stick around in the shop briefly... before shutting himself up in his office.

"Looks like its just us to-" Dipper started before cutting off, hissing in pain. He flinched noticeably and laid a hand against his left cheek.

"What is it?" Mabel asked frantically, stepping closer to him with a look of concern.

"I don't know. I think its..." The brunet peered down at his hand, almost startled to find it clear of blood considering the piercing pain he had been inflicted with. "I think its passing."

"I don't see anything," she informed him, leaning in to check. "What happened?"

"I don't know. It was just, it felt like something burned me or something," he gestured vaguely to the spot where he had placed his hand earlier. "It was sudden. Kinda like when I tasted blood a few weeks ago, I guess."

"Hey, wasn't Bill missing on that day, too?"

"Yeah, but the whole _stay in my sight clause_  was broken and even then, it only affected him. And he isn't allowed to use magic." He grimaced, trying to dredge up any other explanation without success. "I mean, I don't think its a coincidence but I don't know how it connects."

"Well, we'll figure it out." Mabel smiled reassuringly, about to turn away from the counter to get ready for tourists and customers only to stop. Her eyes grew wider in panic and disgust and her voice shook when she spoke. "Actually, bro, maybe we shouldn't open the shack today."

Dipper gave her an inquisitive look, prompting her to point to his mouth. He pressed his hand to his lips and found a small amount of dark blood when he pulled away. His mind still catching up to what was going on, he hurriedly dragged his wrist across his mouth again to wipe any lingering blood off.

"Oh no," he groaned, "I know exactly what this is. Mabel, you're a genius; this does relate to Bill. We need to find him."

"Hang on! What's going on? You're still bleeding!"

He found her to be correct as he collected fresh blood on his fingertips and faintly registered the disgusting taste of blood he had woken up to before. Grabbing a clean towel kept for cleaning from behind the counter, Dipper frequently cleared away the thin but steady stream of dark liquid as he spoke.

"See, whenever Bill breaks one of my commands his body does this decaying thing so he spits up blood exactly like this. He even said it tastes disgusting. It never worked the other way around before, but since I broke that one command maybe it does now. And as you said earlier, he's been out of my sight both times this has happened now. Maybe I didn't break the order correctly so its still having negative repercussions - it wouldn't exactly be the _first_  time I messed up all this summoning and demonology stuff."

"So we need to find Bill and stop it!" Mabel finished energetically. "Now where would he be?"

"Okay, you check the house and I'll go look outside. There's been no one available to give him a ride since Grunkle Stan is in his office and Stanley is asleep so he must be around here somewhere."

Mabel nodded and the two got to work glassing the building and the forest outside. He circled the woods in the immediate vicinity, calling out the demon's name loudly, while she raced through the hallways and paused in each room except for Stanley's, not wanting to wake him up. Dipper returned just as Mabel finished looking in Stanford's office and both shook their heads, disappointed.

The brunet searched his memory for any clues Bill might have left for where he was going - though he could not recall one considering the only thing out of place was the missing box of cigarettes - when he remembered his earlier conversation with Stanford. Leading the way, he entered the office and approached the desk.

"Grunkle Stan, you were up pretty early this morning, watching that movie of yours and all. Would you have happened to notice Bill leave? Did he tell you where he was headed or anything?" Dipper asked hesitantly. He knew well that Stanford did not want anything to do with the demon unless it involved gold.

The older man remained silent for a long moment, bent over his desk as he worked on plans for some new attraction in the gift shop. Finally sitting up, he huffed and briefly explained: "Stanley took him to his room."

Dipper groaned and pinched his nose bridge in irritation. "And you couldn't have said anything earlier?"

"I don't particularly like acknowledging Cipher's presence." Stanford returned to his work without any further word.

Shaking off the bitterness of having to comb through the forest when Stanford had known all along, Dipper gestured for his twin to follow him and hurried down the hall to Stanley's room. He pushed the door open, still holding the cloth to his mouth to catch the blood that now drained from his mouth quicker and in a larger quantity.

For the most part the room was dim, but in the far corner the desk lamp lit up its immediate vicinity and on the edge of its circle of light was a faint blue glow. Gesturing for Mabel to wait at the threshold, Dipper padded into the room and inched towards the blue. When he reached the lamp he halted, stomach dropping at seeing the scene before him.

Bill was sprawled out on the floor, clearly unconscious. His body seemed to be as much of a wreck as it had been when Dipper had summoned him; skin grey, third eye open, hair pale. Only now it was worse for his body had been cut into, dark blood and raised black scars forming his wheel sigil. The shirt he had taken from the brunet was pushed away from his chest, the sleeves rolled up away from the plethora of smaller gashes on his arms, but the fabric had still been soaked in the blood. And in the exact same spot Dipper had felt sharp pain earlier, blue energy had fixed itself to the demon's face to heal the charred flesh underneath.

And Stanley was nowhere to be seen.

Once he had recognized the unconscious form as Bill's, Dipper rushed forward and knelt beside him. Mindful of the wounds crossing the demon's body, he pulled the other up against his shoulder and wrapped an arm around the thinner shoulders to keep him propped up. A few times he called Bill's name, but since he remained unconscious, the half-demon scanned the room to try and piece together the story himself.

The spray bottle containing some leftover holy water was definitely a hint; it explained the injury spanning Bill's cheek. Stanley's absence was also another hint. It meant that he had caused all of this.

Panic ripping through him at seeing Bill so decayed, injured, _hurt_ , Dipper tightened his grip on the demon. Guilt added itself to his repertoire of overwhelming emotions as his mind hurriedly tried to connect together every explanation it could manage. Maybe he should have listened to Bill about Stanley, actually done something about it. Bill had warned him of Stanley's distrustful nature and he had kept brushing him off.

And now look at what had happened.

Bill opened his eyes, still a shiny black as he did not have enough energy to correct them. Whatever disgust Dipper felt by this new feature had been hidden as panic and worry continued to control his actions. He leaned over the figure in his arms, forcing down the terror that resulted from seeing someone he had come to know so well be so horrifyingly changed. Even when he had first summoned Bill, he had not been able to connect the small body that had first appeared with his healthier form because the Bill he knew then was so different in his mind from the one he knew now. The demon had shifted in his mind from a threatening enemy to a masochistic friend. And now that friend resembled the monster again.

"Bill. What happened?"

The demon answered after a few moments, his voice echoing though it had not reverted to monotone as well. "It was Stanley. He threatened me so that I would have to use magic, even when I've been commanded not to. He sprayed me with holy water to make me do it."

Teeth clenched in growing fury, Dipper was about to speak but was interrupted by Bill's voice.

"I think I got blood on your shirt. I tried not to after you got mad last time. My apologies, Pine Tree."

Dipper struggled to find something to say, his anger having been extinguished by the blond's apology. He did not bother to staunch the tears that blurred his vision. Midsummer was upon them, and most of the time leading up to it had been marked by having the demon following him, by his growing to be fond of Bill.

"Its alright, I wasn't that mad anyway. I'll give you another shirt when I know you're alright. You _are_ gonna be alright, right?" Dipper answered shakily, attempting to sound reassuring.

His question remained unaddressed as the demon fell silent again, half closing his eyes.

"Yeah, of course you'll be alright. You're immortal! Just gotta hang on a bit and you'll be right back to your irritating self." A sigh. He wiped away the blood that still trickled into his mouth absentmindedly. "You'll just have to get back to your irritating self _soon_ , I missed waking up to it this morning. You barely have any energy left, but I love how energetic you are."

At this point he was speaking more to himself than to Bill, thinking out loud without filtering or really considering what he said first. His saying his thoughts aloud had ruined whatever secrecy he imagined that he had with previous love interests, but he was barely conscious of what he was saying now, let alone of the fact that the demon had been abruptly added to this category.

"We'll get you back to your usual self, I promise."

With his free hand he touched Bill's cheek lightly, the dull blue energy still lit there triggering Dipper's own power. He held his hand there, hoping his contribution to Bill's energy would help the wound from the holy water heal, then leaned down and kissed Bill's temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bye Stanley.  
> My eternal thanks to [this brilliant person](http://sir-snellby.tumblr.com/) for proofreading this chapter for me!  
> This chapter took quite some time to write so feedback would be very appreciated!


	15. Aid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for minor violence

"Dipper?"

He flinched when Mabel called out from the doorway, partially stepping in and peering into the gloom of the room. In the panic of the last few moments his consciousness of his surroundings had slipped, leaving him to be startled when his sister made her presence known.

"Its Bill..." was all that he could manage to say for the moment.

Catching onto what was going on, she crossed Stanley's room and opened the curtains to let the rising sun dissipate the darkness. Her fingers hesitantly met the spray bottle containing holy water on the desk and stood in the spot where Stanley had knelt moments before, though she was unaware of this. A heavy air wore down on her, made her fall silent, as she sunk to the floor in front of Dipper and Bill. In the increased light the cuts and blood that marred the demon were more noticeable - and unsettling.

With a gentle touch Mabel tugged the edges of the plaid shirt over Bill's chest, not wishing to see the wounds any longer. Then, pointing to the large marks of discolored black and blue skin spanning his cheek, she asked, "The injuries from the holy water or whatever it was... will it get any better?"

"Yeah, it was holy water." Dipper shook his head, thinking, "I'm not sure. He's not exactly talking right now."

"And the... uh..." The brunette gestured to the blue flames outlining Dipper's hand carefully so as not to meet them. "I never did learn to fix injuries through magic; not at this level of damage anyway. Hopefully if he takes some of mine he can figure it all out himself, though I'm not sure his powers work like that. I don't know. He's never told me what all he can and can't do. I don't know."

"It must count for _something_. Should I get Grunkle Stan? Or one of your grimoires?"

The half-demon shook his head once more, uncertain. "This isn't a usual situation. I'm pretty sure that when a demon gets hurt like this no one wants to fix them afterwards. To do this to a demon tends to be the ultimate goal. Like in movies, and TV shows, and books... And besides, Grunkle Stan doesn't like Bill at all. He'd be happy if he saw Bill like this."

"Why did Stanley do this?" Mabel pressed softly.

"Bill said it was so that he would have to use his magic."

"What for? And couldn't he have just _asked_? They could have made a deal or something. Instead of this!" She gestured to Bill vaguely, furrowing her eyebrows. "Just keep trying with the flame thing, Dipper, maybe it'll work out."

Forcing himself off of Dipper's lap, Bill leaned forward on his hand and feebly pushed Mabel away with the other. He lowered his head, retching, as he tried to swallow and cough up the black blood spilling into his mouth. Continuing to shove her away he ordered through clenched teeth, "Back off. Forgetful just like your dumb brother. You're making it _worse_."

"Its the order I gave him to stay away from you," the brunet reminded, gesturing for Mabel to back away. He looked between the two, helpless. "You have to give him some room."

Stumbling to her feet and backward, Mabel continued. "What are we supposed to do with him?"

Choking down the remainder of the blood thickly, Bill let himself fall back into Dipper's lap. He closed his two darker eyes and fell silent, as satisfied as he could be at the moment.

"Just... I don't know what to do. Bill said when he has all that blood he's being called back into the mindscape, like he's decaying. But, he never exactly told me how to _fix_  something like this... well, he did, but _no way_. Just get Grunkle Stan. I don't know what else to do. I don't know," he answered through a strained voice.

Mabel sprinted out of the room while Dipper pulled the demon into a better position in his arms. He buttoned the torn and stained plaid shirt without thinking, ignoring the blood that coated his fingertips after brushing them against the blond's skin. After a moment he placed his free hand back against Bill's cheek, letting the blue engulf him once more and hoping that it would help.

"Y'know, its not very convenient that you keep quieting down like this," he muttered under his breath.

No answer.

"What, what are you so upset about?" Stanford asked irritably. The older man was dragged into the room by a frantic Mabel who pointed towards the others.

"You need to help us," she begged.

"Why?"

"You've known him longer than we have! You must know how to do _something_  for him!"

Sighing audibly he went to stand above the two demonic beings. A look of disgust flashed across his expression before looking around quickly. "Where's Lee?"

"We don't know," Dipper admitted.

"What." There was no questioning in his tone, but a furious command for knowledge.

"Well, he's gone," the brunet started. He almost reached up to rub the back of his neck but thought twice. "We found everything like this. Stanley gone, holy water on the desk, Bill... Bill _like this_."

"And has Bill said anything?"

"Yeah. He said Stanley made him like this, that he was threatened with holy water-"

"Why would Lee do that?" Stanford shot back, fidgeting.

"I was hoping _you_  would know that." He mustered a glare, a look laced with distrust, at the older Pines. "Bill said Stanley made him use magic even though he's not allowed to."

"He's lying. Cipher lies, Dipper. There's gotta be another explanation."

"Right, and Bill made himself like this for the laughs."

"He's a masochist. He would do this for the laughs! Kid, just- we don't have time for this. Where's Stanley?"

"We don't know," Mabel echoed from the door.

"Look, we have Bill still and he knows what happened. Help us fix him and then he can tell us everything," Dipper suggested, hardening his voice.

"Help him? Leave him, we're all better off with him weakened. Now, make him tell us where Stanley is."

"He can barely speak!"

"And if he doesn't wanna be any worse off, he'll tell me where my brother is. I'm not losing him again."

"But Bill-"

"Enough!" Stanford cut in. "Yeesh, kid, I thought you'd be smarter than to trust a demon."

Dipper flinched involuntarily. He _was_  a demon now, at least a half-demon, a being his Grunkle Stan could not tolerate. Demons were untrustworthy, and now so was he. Mind racing to realize and cope with how much the older Pines twins would despise him if they knew, the brunet hung his head and shut his mouth.

"I know," he acknowledged softly.

Stanford flinched involuntarily. He knew that the younger Pines was now half-demon, had worried over the fact and did his best to find a solution since first being told so by Stanley. It plagued his mind, kept him buried in his own set of paranormal books he had collected over the years in hopes that he could rid the brunet of his demonic aspect. And now he had thrown an insult that applied to Dipper automatically.

But he had to dispel this subtle guilt from his mind.

"Enough, Dipper, I'll handle this."

Stanford waved for the other to move back as he leaned over to snatch up Bill's collar. Fingernails digging into the fabric, he wrenched the demon up onto his feet and into the wall next to them. With both hands he forced the injured being off of the ground, slamming his head back against the wall when he refused to open his eyes. Leaving one hand flat against Bill's sternum he clenched the other around his throat until the demon finally opened his eyes.

"You've been listening, haven't you?"

"What?" Bill asked wearily.

"Where's my brother? Where's Stanley?" Stanford growled, tightening his hold on Bill's throat.

"Glasses?"

"Glasses. Where's Glasses."

"Is he gone? Please tell me that worked."

"It did. Now bring him back!"

"No, Fez, not now. It was part of a deal, and I have to uphold my deals." The demon's eyes began to close, prompting the man to thrash him.

"Deal? What deal?"

"He threatened me with holy water; made me make a deal with him and use my magic to complete it."

"What was the deal?"

"Glasses asked for a lot more knowledge. I sent him to the mindscape to get it."

"You what?!"

Stanford strengthened his grip on the blond until he was choking and writhing under his fingertips. Behind them Dipper tensed, well aware that the older Pines was not going to let up anytime soon. Hesitating for a few beats, he finally made up his mind to make Stanford release Bill. Stepping up to their side he tried to yank Stanford's hands off of Bill's throat only to receive an elbow jammed into his stomach.

"Let me do this," Stanford demanded roughly, shooting Dipper a warning look. "Let him suffer."

Throwing an arm around his midriff the brunet retreated back towards Mabel. Bill was a demon after all, he should not fret over him like this, though it definitely did not help that he appeared to be on the verge of fainting.

"Answer me, Cipher, where's my brother? Tell me again where you sent _Glasses_."

"The mindscape," the demon complied haltingly.

"You sent Stanley to the mindscape because you promised him knowledge in a deal?"

Bill nodded and failed to protest when he was struck again out of fury.

"And he's there right now? You're not lying? Are you sure he's there?"

A shake of the head this time. "He might be there. He might not. I'm not as strong, powerful, as I should be. I could have failed, sent him somewhere else, killed him. I don't know."

"Check!"

"I can't."

"Come on, Cipher, bring him back! Or tell me how to do it myself!"

"I can't." He closed his eyes, lowered his eyes. "I'm tired."

"Typical," Stanford huffed. "This isn't over, Cipher. You _will_  be getting Lee back."

Relinquishing his hold on the demon, he let Bill fall to his knees on the floor. Without a glance at the younger twins he strode out of the room, gait heavy and fists clenched. The blond swayed slightly from where he knelt, causing Dipper to rush to his side and catch him before he could lose his balance entirely. Wrapping an arm around the blond's shoulders and tucking his head under his chin, Dipper grimaced out of concern.

"There must be a way we can fix this," he pondered once more.

"Bill, is he, is Stanley really... he's not dead is he?" Mabel asked from the doorway, wringing her hands.

"I don't know, Shooting Star," Bill answered, willing himself to stay conscious.

"And you? Will you be okay?"

"I don't know, Shooting Star," he repeated. "If Pine Tree would just stop asking useless questions he should already know the answer to maybe I _will_  be."

"What? You haven't exactly taught me how to perform demon first-aid!" Dipper threw back crossly.

Exaggerating his sigh, Bill laced his fingers through the brunet's free hand and held their hands to his face, sparking up the blue flames again as strongly as he could. "Energy exchange. You were already on the right track."

"I didn't notice any differences earlier!"

"Then _try_ _harder_. Your energy is by no means weak."

Catching onto all that what Bill was telling him entailed, Dipper gently pushed him away at arms length. With the hopes that he would not faint then and there, he snatched up the demon's hands to hold them in his. He remembered well that an energy exchange was not to be used here but he had no other choice. Recounting everything that had happened back in the clearing weeks before, he concentrated on calling back his energy.

It was his fingertips that lit up first instead, but it was a start. Golden strands weaved their way along his palm and toward his wrist while triggering Bill's blue energy back into life. The blue aura lit up the demon's frame quickly, reacting before Dipper's gold could even reach his elbows.

"Wrong way, but close enough," the blond remarked.

Several minutes had passed before a fine film of gold tinted Dipper's skin and set his eyes alight in blue. While it had trickled steadily around him, it was slowed considerably by the energy divvying itself between Dipper and Bill. Half of the gold continuously shifted to blue in the demon's hands and helped strengthen the flickering flames. But no extraordinary change occurred, no healing except for the slight fading of the splatters on his cheek left by the holy water. There was no shock, no pain, only an underwhelming cool sensation that tickled their skin lightly.

"How long does this take?" Mabel wondered, addressing herself primarily as she sat down in front of the door.

"Its only supposed to take a few minutes but at this rate we'll be here all day. Hurry up, kid."

Making a noise of annoyance Dipper spoke up: "Actually, I liked you better when you were on the verge of fainting."

"Right."

"If you say so," Mabel added.

"Just shut up and let me concentrate!"

Ignoring the other two, Dipper stared down at his hands intently, trying to summon more energy from his fingertips. He thought he was starting to see a difference when Bill clucked his tongue in disapproval.

"Wrong way. Think, half of your energy is now structured like mine, and I draw my power from the mindscape. Take a guess about where part of your energy comes from," the demon lectured.

"But don't I supply my own power and then it kinda just copies yours? You need to explain things better in the future."

"The power you have now is just yours, that's why its nowhere near as strong as you need it to be. If you're gonna copy my energy you're also gonna have to draw from my source. That's where the real power comes in. Yours alone is worthless to me."

"So how do I draw from the mindscape?"

"Start thinking more independently, will ya?" Bill commentated, annoyed. He leaned forward to draw Dipper's bangs aside and tapped on his birthmark. "Think. I don't have all day for your shortcomings."

Swatting Bill's hand away, the brunet closed his eyes and pulled his concentration from his hands to his mind, to his thoughts and memories. He replayed the last energy exchange again in his mind, focusing on every detail instead of just recounting the facts as he did before, and how Bill had demonstrated the readjustment of the stars.

"Finally," Mabel grumbled under her breath.

Though Dipper still had his eyes closed to the world, he had urged on the needed difference. The blue glow that tinted his eyes and birthmark deepened and expanded, alerting the gold that covered the rest of his figure to draw out more energy. A ripple of increased power transformed his more pronounced aura, making it rush from his palms to meet Bill's clasped hands. With a shock the power collided with the demon's, setting a darker blue off to meet his black eyes now tinged gold.

Breathing out in relief of both Dipper's success and his more recharged energy, Bill closed his eyes and redirected the blue into healing the deep lacerations reopened by sending Stanley away and the marks left by the holy water. The blood that previously continued to drain from the wounds was staunched and the cuts were healed over into fading scars. Blue energy worked on the withered flesh along his cheek until it had faded completely. Even the blood that had been filling his mouth had halted - his body was no longer decaying.

Noticing the wretched blood thinning out and stopping for him as well, Dipper opened his eyes to find Bill jerking his hands back. With the pathway cut off, the brunet's golden flames flickered and died out, though Bill still wrapped himself in blue. Pressing his hands to his stomach, he doubled over as the shock and pain caused by being the recipient of such an exchange coursed through his nerves.

"I forgot how much this hurts," he breathed, clenching his teeth.

"You were the one who told me I was pathetic for reacting to the pain!" the brunet observed bitterly. " _Get up, kid, you're overreacting_."

"Very funny. It didn't even work completely."

"Should I try and do it again?" Dipper offered, holding his hands out to Bill.

"No! Definitely not." The demon sat up and shifted away from the advancement. "Quantity doesn't trump quality, and your energy is secondary in quality - for now anyway."

"Fine then! Maybe I shouldn't have helped you through an energy exchange. Take care of your health yourself," he spat out, turning away. The work of drawing out more energy and the situation itself were making his nerves wear thin.

"Woah, calm down. What did you expect? You still have quite a bit of humanity left. I have none! I need you to do one more thing for me, that way I can go back to normal."

"You should've thought about this before you made a deal with Stanley!"

"He threatened me."

"Then you could've _called_  me. Its not like we've been that far apart. I was literally right down the hall! And now you need... whatever it is you need, Stanley's gone, and Grunkle Stan is beyond mad at all of us."

"Right, call you. He'd probably have just sprayed more holy water on me! The guy's a lunatic."

"Whatever. Just tell me what this second step is." Dipper peered back at Bill.

Though the demon appeared much better than he did minutes before, he was clearly still fairly drained of energy. His body had stopped decaying, had even healed itself up a bit, but some of the affects of the previous damage to his body were still visible. The third eye that had adorned his forehead faded while his skin and hair were brightened from a pale grey to nearly their usual golden hues. What was striking about his appearance now was the black that still made his eyes gleam, the darkness not having receded.

"The deal Glasses and I made was important for me too, even though I was forced into it. I wanted him to complete his side of the bargain first before I fulfilled my part but he had other plans apparently. He kept threatening me until I sent him away, _as our deal went_ , but by doing so he broke our bargain. I need you to meet his promise."

"And what was his promise?" Dipper asked, groaning. He had a strong feeling that he would regret whatever it was that Stanley had bargained with.

"A sacrifice. He'd perform a sacrifice for me so I can keep myself fully functional. You cut me from the mindscape, my primary power source. Glasses was gracious enough to offer me this substitute so you wouldn't have to but things don't always work out - especially for you! So you'll be performing the sacrifice instead."

The strong feeling was absolutely correct.

"I already told you, I'm not doing anymore animal sacrifices for you," Dipper asserted.

"Well, good! Because you'll be doing a human sacrifice instead!" the demon countered cheerily.

From her spot by the door Mabel gasped, though this was muffled by her twin's instant reaction. Tensing up, he tried to keep from walking away then and there, instead willing himself to reject Bill's request.

"If I wouldn't perform an animal sacrifice, if I got sick during the only one I have done, what makes you think I would be willing to do a human sacrifice?"

"Humans don't normally consider themselves as animals so I thought you'd find it easier. Would it help if you killed someone you didn't like?"

"No!"

"C'mon, Pine Tree, you've never liked Star. What if you got the chance to kill him? I promise you won't be caught!" Bill's voice took on a whining undertone as he leaned forward, anticipating an affirmative response.

"Not even Sta- I mean Gideon! I'm not doing this for you." With an air of finality Dipper pushed himself to his feet and headed for the door.

"Just so you know," the blond called out, making him stop before leaving the room. "If you do this for me, I could help bring Glasses back for Fez. And you would be saving me from decaying anymore."

Lingering at the threshold, Dipper held up a hand to keep Bill from saying anything more. He was not entirely sure what to think about Stanley at the moment, let alone _sacrifice_  someone because he broke some deal. Several summers had been heralded by the same warning: stick to gobblewonkers, keep away from demons. Do not make deals with demons, do not talk to them, do not even summon them. Yet, Stanley had retracted on his word to encourage Dipper to do all of those things he had cautioned against and then did them all himself. As far as the brunet was concerned, Stanley had been just as distrustful and dishonest as Bill was supposed to be so far the summer.

But, this was not the case with Bill. The demon had earned his trust, went out of his way to give Dipper what he wanted. After everything that had happened, it seemed more logical to trust the demon who was at least in his right mind than, well, a _lunatic_. Besides, Bill was not exactly here with some ulterior motive to begin with, he had been called upon and was trying to cope with it.

So perhaps it would not be too troublesome to hear the blond out, to find out what all this meant he was supposed to do, to find out if he really could get Stanley back so his Grunkle Stan could be happy again - as he should be, even if Dipper was irritated with him at the moment. A deal was a deal, it should not be broken, and here he was given the chance to redeem a family member that had looked out for him before, at least in previous years.

Dropping his hand and stepping further back into the room, the brunet stood over Bill. "Even if I _was_  willing, what makes you think I would be capable of performing a human sacrifice? I almost got sick with the bird, and now we're talking actual, sentient _human being_."

From her spot by the door Mabel stood up, her face paling considerably at the direction this conversation was taking. She trusted Dipper to handle it, and she would only be down the hall if she was needed, but the brunette was not one to sit idly through such morbid ideas. With a glance to the two demonic beings she frowned, deciding that if her twin tried to do this she would face then this topic and do her best to deter him from doing it, no matter how sick it made her. Informing them of her relocating to the living room, Mabel left with an uneasy feeling growing inside her.

"I didn't really want her hearing this anyway," Dipper had sighed upon her exiting the room. Disappointment tugged at the corner of his lips - he really did not want to brave this terrifying idea alone - but the majority of him felt relieved for her absence. Mabel was his first priority, both physically and emotionally, and he could not let what he might have to do tear at her.

"Regarding your question," Bill began, quirking an eyebrow to force the shift of attention back to their conversation. "When you killed that bird for me you were more human, almost completely affected by every emotion you possess. It made you nervous to do it and guilty afterwards. Luckily for you, a side effect of becoming a half-demon is the dulling of those emotions! Its necessary for all the reasons I told you about before, of course, but it also makes it much easier for you to perform sacrifices - even human ones. Now when you go to take the life of something or someone there won't be so much hesitation and regret because you'll be more in control of yourself, less at the mercy of those useless emotions humans foolishly treasure. You'll see, kid, it'll be less difficult than you're making it out to be mentally."

"You talk as if I was going to do it."

"Oh you will." The demon flashed him a smirk, hinting that he knew this for certain.

"Why?"

It was a simple question, and he had more complex ones that threatened to spill from his lips, but he had no idea of how to vocalize every concern he had. It was a simple question, and it wrapped every query he had into one. More information, persuasion, was needed for him to say anything. Even his listening to Bill in the first place was a matter of second-guessing himself and his decisions.

Hands curling around his knees as he leaned forward, Bill answered with a tone renewed with his typically snarky personality.

"Because you won't let me get worse, won't let Fez go without Glasses again. You care too much still, what with your wanting to help and protect others. Normally I would say that aspect of you would be a nuisance but in this case its working for my favor: you care too much to not do anything about this situation, even if it means you'll have to go against your morality. Not that your morality will protest too much when you do this for me, its been faded too much. If it hadn't you wouldn't be listening to this, you would have told me no and walked away. But here you are."

A smile still playing on his lips he reached up to grab Dipper's hand and entwine their fingers.

"And because you won't do this alone. I'll come with you, help you do this without guilt. I'll help you fix everything and do my best to buffer you from the repercussions of any stubborn emotions that might try to overwhelm you. You will do this because it won't cost you much. No one will catch you, even your guilt will leave you alone."

The brunet stilled, letting Bill weave their digits together and try to coax him into doing it. Into taking a human life. Into ending someone's life, causing an emotional ripple effect on everyone around them, for the good of the demon and his family. And Bill was right: his emotions were too dim for him to protest wholeheartedly.

He wasn't supposed to be seriously considering this, turning over in his mind whether performing the sacrifice would be worth it. Wasn't supposed to be leaning on the side of agreement because the comfort of his family and a demon obviously meant more to him than someone's existence, humanity, memories. Wasn't supposed to be silently content with how his palm was now pressed against the being's who had done this to him, made him so unconcerned for those outside his protection.

And he wasn't supposed to be nodding his head, an acceptance of his place in completing the bargain; the deal between Bill and Stanley would not be broken because Dipper would fulfill it himself.

But the brunet was acting through it all, surprise at his behavior only lazily nudging him under Bill's dominating presence.

Tightening his grip around the other's hand, he aided Bill in standing. With an arm slung under his armpits he gently eased the blond into the desk chair, knocking the bottle of holy water away from their immediate sight when he hands were free. Leaving the room briefly, he fetched some bandages to properly take care of the raised lines adorning the demon's skin. He unbuttoned the plaid shirt once more, sweeping it aside as he wound the white gauze down his torso to hide away his wheel sigil entirely. Then, catching the two edges of the shirt together once more, he rolled up the sleeves to do the same for his arms, for the runes marking him in desperation. It took sometime to complete this task, and when he had finished his thorough job there was almost no bandaging left, but it was well worth it in his opinion.

Dipper shifted his weight back against the desk, looking down at Bill. "So what's your plan for this?"

"The sooner the better. We find someone that won't be missed, whose absence wouldn't be noticed, and use them."

"Really elaborate. How ever did you come up with that plan?" the brunet rolled his eyes.

"By listening to your plans."

He scoffed, both offended and amused because Bill really could not be more wrong. "You said you'd help me."

"Yeah, when you actually do it. I'll let you take care of the plotting. Its not like you're incapable - I would do it for you if you were, but as it so happens I like the plan you come up with."

Dipper made a sound of irritation, biting back more of a reply.

Averting his gaze away from the demon in an attempt to draw inspiration from nothing, Dipper focused on the window. Blinds still parted let in the warm evening light, thin slits of the sun staining the wall and bed tucked next to it. The sun must have been dipping closer to the horizon, the light blue of the sky deepening to denim in preparation to reveal the stars and moon. Night was coming too soon and his very being, his morality and soul, was being encouraged to change with the lighting by Bill's expectant gaze.

"I know what we'll do," Dipper announced after running through different routes. Using his hands as leverage, he pushed off the desk and held his hand out to Bill. The demon had offered him his help and he was going to make sure he received it.

Smiling as he took Dipper's hand and was forced back onto his feet Bill complimented: "Actually practicing your magic while we do this. I like it, kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During my short hiatus [mabel-juice](http://mabel-juice.tumblr.com) made ficart for Sigil!  
> [Three of them are here!](http://mabel-juice.tumblr.com/post/121730319078/some-very-sketchy-sketches-based-on-syr-rens) [tw for smoking/body horror]  
> [And a colored version is here!](http://mabel-juice.tumblr.com/post/121888006448/based-off-a-scene-from-syr-rens-story-sigil-in)  
> You all should go check out the amazing illustrations they drew!!! To the artist, thank you so much for drawing & posting those!!! Its been a few weeks and I'm _still_ freaking out hardcore!!!


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